Overview
- Citing DLRG data that 99 people drowned in June 2026, former world-class swimmer Franziska van Almsick said the situation in Germany’s swim education is “dramatic” and must be fixed.
- She proposed three immediate actions: make school swimming lessons compulsory and written into curricula, help municipalities fund and renovate pools, and launch a large national campaign to teach children to swim.
- Van Almsick warned that many families wait two to three years for courses, that schools often cannot provide adequate instruction, and that she estimates roughly half of local pools are dilapidated or at risk of closure.
- She linked the shortage of training capacity to wider sports funding problems, calling for more secure contracts and better pay for coaches so talent does not move to countries like the Netherlands or Australia.
- Her foundation supports local programs such as the Desjoyaux‑Pool‑School and works with international partners including Princess Charlène of Monaco, but no federal policy commitments have been reported so far.