Post #766696

When I was in third or fourth grade, we had to take a swimming test for a badge in sports class. Basically you had to prove you can swim for a certain time, jump into the water and dive. If you got the badge, you could attach it to your swim suit to show you can swim in deep water. I had no problem with the swimming and jumping, but then came the diving. The poolwater was heavily clorinated and it hurt my eyes. I usually wore goggles, however the teacher decided that we weren’t allowed goggles for the test. We had to dive for a ring. I remember being above the ring, going down, but then I couldn’t find it. Due to the chlorine I couldn’t open my eyes and I searched the ground with my hands. Eventually I was out of breath and had to go up again. The teacher decided I had failed the test because I couldn’t bring the ring back up, even though it was clear that I was able to dive and stay under water for a long time. I never got that badge. I’m not sure why, I think I could have redone the test in a swimming class outside of school, but my parents never cared to sign me up because ultimately the badge wasn’t that important. I’m still a bit mad because I feel like I should have been allowed goggles in such a heavily chlorinated pool.