On Tuesday, a day after registrations opened and quickly filled for free youth swimming lessons this summer, St. Paul Parks and Recreation officials confirmed they had set aside 1,000 additional slots for low-income kids and others from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The city plans targeted outreach through its Rec Check after-school program and other nonprofit partners that work with young people, with the goal of more than doubling current enrollments.

“This is the same model we used last year,” said Clare Cloyd, a spokesperson for Parks and Rec. “They just weren’t free. We held lessons back for targeted enrollment using scholarships. This year, they’re all free. … We have a pretty good grasp on the lanes we expect to use for getting those spots filled.”

Targeted programs

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and others have long pointed to inequities in water safety, leading to at least seven targeted programs, including free lifeguard training for city teens.

According to national studies, Black youth are more than three times as likely to drown as their white peers, leading many kids of color to avoid the water entirely. Carter highlighted those concerns during his budget address last August when he noted a planned $250,000 investment to support free swimming in city-owned pools.

“I expect this proposal to have the same impact on our pools that eliminating participation fees had on our recreation centers last year,” Carter said at the time.

On Monday, he made good on that promise when phone and online registration opened at 9 a.m. for free youth swimming classes this summer.

Hundreds signed up

The offering, announced by the city last week, caught many parents off-guard and led to a sudden deluge of registrations, overwhelming the computer system. Some St. Paul families reported receiving erroneous messages saying they were being denied because they live outside the city, even though they do not.

Still, in what parks officials called a positive sign, 763 youth slots were filled within two hours, and some lessons were full within minutes.

By comparison’s sake, the city’s fee-based swimming lessons usually fill within about a week or two, though prime scheduling hours can be snatched up the same day registration opens.

“The hundreds of residents who flocked to sign up for free swim lessons offered the strongest possible endorsement of the program’s value,” said the mayor, in a written statement on Tuesday. “We are aware that the rush created frustrating technical issues as hundreds of residents attempted to access our systems at the same time. These technical issues will be addressed.”

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