Milo Dailey, Butte County Post staff

Belle Fourche has a new way to help young people get into shape, have some fun and learn how to swim at the same time.

It's a partnership between the Belle Fourche Area Community Center and the Belle Fourche School District.

Third- and fourth-graders from South Park Elementary School have their physical education classes for an eight-week fall session at the community center pool to learn how to swim or - when they have the skills - to play games at the community center's pool.

Pool manager Kathryn Bogner said the program dates back to 2004, when it seemed that many area youngsters were not among those at summer swimming lessons.

"Every kid should know how to swim," she said Monday, watching the class change between a bit bigger fourth-graders and the third-grade class.

"It's great exercise, and it's fun for kids," she said. "We get a chance to teach as many kids as possible who may not be able to afford swimming lessons."

Bogner said that the Belle Fourche center has a high priority to help today's youths avoid childhood obesity. The swimming program plays one major role in that.

"I've never seen so many kids overweight as we see today," she said.

It's also a trend, she said, that fewer and fewer children know how to swim. That's in spite of popular lake and river recreation near Belle Fourche.

The school district pays for the cost of the pool staff that helps with the two elementary school classes.

Some of the children in the class are afraid of the water, Bogner said, and the center has individualized instruction to help them learn the skills and coordination that allows them to pass to higher training levels and, eventually, to the games group at the deep end of the pool.

About 28 students at a time file into the pool for the classes.

The third- and fourth-grade classes are at a great age and level of coordination to start learning how to swim with regular swimming lessons, she said.

There are lessons available for kids as young as toddlers, Bogner said. Parent-child lessons also are available.

"A lot of my lifeguards do private lessons all year long," she said.

That is in addition to summer swimming lesson classes that keep the pool busy throughout the day.

Anyone interested in private lessons can call Bogner at the Belle Fourche Area Community Center, at 892-2467.