Why do students learn to do a trapeze & rainbow dives?
In the Beginning and Intermediate Survival levels, instructors hold a students hand as they jump into the pool, then aid them in turning around and grabbing the wall. We call this “trapeze” because the child is swinging on the instructors finger. Like the traditional song, “He flies through the air with the greatest of ease…” In an emergency situation if a child were to fall into the pool, he would probably fall head first because his head is large in proportion to his body (as compared to an adult). To survive, he must either 1) roll to a back float and propel himself to safety in a superman position (rainbow dive) or 2) grab the wall (trapeze) and climb out or abba dabba (hand to hand monkey walk) to the safety of the steps.
