Level I – adaptation to the water environment,
total immersion breathing, floating/treading water, moving
underwater, and elementary diving; and Level II, in which
children who had acquired the aforementioned skills and
mastered body control in the water began learning the
front crawl and backstroke. Twenty-six children (who had
never attended swimming lessons before) completed Level
I, and four completed Level II, mastering the front crawl
and backstroke. The program lasted three months and
consisted of two weekly lessons for a total of 24 lessons per
participant. Minimum attendance of 80% was considered a
requirement for study participation; when children failed to
attend a lesson, their parents or guardians were contacted in
order to ascertain the reason for absence. Children who did
not attend 80% of classes were excluded from the study.