Because they offer a more adventurous playground and a more challenging skillscape than other types of pools and a change to cultivate convivial relationships with the people, plants and animals in and around the pool, ocean pools have special value as places to learn to swim.
There are clear benefits to learning to swim in a more challenging and naturalistic setting rather than in the more controlled and artificial environment of an inground or indoor public pool. A person accustomed only to swimming in controlled still-water environments may not acquire the swimming skills necessary to protect their own life in wilder waters, much less save the lives of others.
Many ocean pools host learn-to-swim programs. In Australia, these programs are often provided through amateur swimming clubs based at ocean pools or programs run by schools or government agencies responsible for sport and recreation.
