Leslie's and Cullen Jones Team Up to Drive Awareness of Three Tenets of Pool Safety for National Water Safety Month

Four-Time Olympic Swimming Medalist, Jones, Nearly Drowned as a Five-Year-Old, Offers Water Safety Tips to Pool Owners, Parents

PHOENIX, May 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- This month is National Water Safety Month, and to celebrate, Leslie's, the leading pool and spa care retailer in the U.S., is joining forces with its water safety partner, Cullen Jones, four-time Olympic swimming medalist and first African American swimmer to hold a world record. Together, they share valuable tips for pool owners and parents to help make the 2024 swim season safe and enjoyable for all.

Note to Broadcast and Online Media: Please click here for a downloadable video news story/interview with Cullen Jones on this topic.

Jones nearly drowned at age five at a water park in Pennsylvania on a family vacation. His parents reacted — not by keeping him out of the water, but by enrolling him in swimming lessons, where he thrived.  Today, he is not only renowned for his athletic achievements, but also as a passionate advocate for swimming lessons and water safety.

Leslie's and Jones offer the three tenets of water safety, which include maintaining healthy and safe pool water, ensuring a secure pool area, and encouraging swimming lessons and water safety education.  While swimming lessons help individuals be safe around water, pool owners should take additional precautions to prevent drownings and maintain a safe environment.

Regular water testing and treatment are crucial for swim-safe water, and Leslie's makes it easy for pool owners with its AccuBlue® and AccuBlue Home® water testing solutions. The retailer also offers a range of products, tools, and information to stay safe in and around the pool, from the latest in pool security fencing, gates, safety covers, and alarms to learn-to-swim gear and U.S. Coast Guard-approved personal floatation products.

Harris Poll Survey: Nearly Half of Parents Say Their Child Can't Swim
According to a recent Leslie's-commissioned survey conducted by The Harris Poll, nearly half the parents of children under 18 years of age say their child does not know how to swim, and 61% say their child has not taken swimming lessons. Almost 30% of parents say they are concerned about their child drowning. In that same poll, only 63% of American adults indicated they are very comfortable being around water, and 36% of those surveyed said they do not know how to swim.

Here are some additional relevant statistics:

• Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death in children ages 1–4.*
• Drowning is the second-leading cause of unintentional injury death in children and adolescents ages 5–19, behind motor vehicle crashes.*
• May, June and July mark the deadliest months of the year for drowning deaths in the U.S.**
• There's an 88% chance that a child will be safer in the water and not drown if they have formal swimming lessons.***

"Swimming lessons save lives," said Cullen Jones. "Children are irresistibly drawn to water, whether it's a backyard pool, hot tub, a pond, or a river. It's better to teach them how to be safe in the water than to instruct them to avoid it and hope they listen. Learning to be safe and at ease in the water also opens up a whole new world of recreational and athletic possibilities, such as boating, fishing, competitive swimming, and more."  

Here are some additional tips from Jones for parents and guardians:

• Start early by getting infants into the water as early as 6 months old. This helps the child get acclimated to the water and pool environment, easing things when it's time for swimming lessons. Children can start swimming lessons as early as 6 years old.
• Enroll in professional swim instruction programs. It's important for people and kids to learn to swim from trained instructors and not from a parent or family friend.
• To help make kids who can't yet swim feel secure in the water, consider a life jacket and seek out those that are U.S. Coast Guard approved.
• Keep playtime separate from learning, designating times for swim lessons and practice apart from regular pool recreation. 
• Always have dedicated, undistracted supervision when children are in the water. Stay alert and keep your eyes on the pool. Stay off cell phones and eliminate other distractions.
• Be safe and have fun!

Join the Cause
This month, Leslie's is launching fundraising efforts supporting learn-to-swim and water safety education partners Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the American Red Cross. From May 7 through October 31, 2024, the company is accepting customer donations online and in more than 1,000 stores across the nation to support water safety and drowning prevention programs with 100% of the proceeds split equally between Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the American Red Cross. Both organizations are actively involved in providing community resources to help people across the nation learn to swim through professional instruction programs. Since 2020, Leslie's has raised and donated more than $1.5 million for such programs, with the funds fueling local initiatives in communities across the U.S.

Harris Poll Survey: 71% of Americans Mistakenly Assume Clear Pool Water Is Swim-Safe 
Clear-looking pool water is mistakenly assumed to be safe for swimming, according to a March 2024 survey conducted by The Harris Poll and commissioned by Leslie's. The poll found that 71% of those surveyed believe that clear water is clean and safe for swimming. However, even clear water can contain contaminants that pose a danger to swimmers, and pool owners shouldn't assume a pool is safe just because the water is clear. Water testing is crucial for a clean, safe, and beautiful pool.  

About AccuBlue® Water Testing
Regular water testing is important in maintaining swim-safe water.  Leslie's makes water testing simple with its industry-leading AccuBlue® technology — the only pool and spa water test that covers all 10 water chemistry components and generates a corresponding easy-to-follow treatment plan. In just 60 seconds, this free, in-store water test delivers a hardcopy printout with a water quality score and step-by-step, customized water treatment plan to help keep pool water balanced. Pool and spa owners have relied on this professional-grade testing over the past six decades, with more than 50 million tests conducted by Leslie's.

Last May, Leslie's made the most accurate water test more convenient when the company launched its AccuBlue Home® membership program. This revolutionary at-home water testing system is the first of its kind and offers the same leading in-store testing technology, engineered into a compact at-home device. The AccuBlue Home testing device connects to the Leslie's app to deliver a water quality score and customized water treatment plan to the user's mobile phone or tablet. Since its launch, AccuBlue Home has been embraced by pool owners, who value its convenience and accuracy. The membership program has earned a near-perfect five-star rating in member reviews.

About Leslie's 
Founded in 1963, Leslie's is the largest and most trusted direct-to-consumer brand in the U.S. pool and spa care industry. The Company serves the aftermarket needs of residential and professional consumers with an extensive and largely exclusive assortment of essential pool and spa care products. The Company operates an integrated ecosystem of more than 1,000 physical locations and a robust digital platform, enabling consumers to engage with Leslie's whenever, wherever, and however they prefer to shop. Its dedicated team of associates, pool and spa care experts, and experienced service technicians are passionate about empowering Leslie's consumers with the knowledge, products, and solutions necessary to confidently maintain and enjoy their pools and spas. For more information about Leslie's, visit lesliespool.com or follow and engage with us: @lesliespoolcare on Instagram, Leslie's on Facebook, and @lesliespoolcare on Twitter.

About Cullen Jones
Cullen Jones is a four-time Olympic swimming medalist and the first African American swimmer to hold a world record. He is a swimming lesson advocate and Leslie's collaboration partner serving as the water safety expert.  He nearly drowned at a water park when he was five years old. He is also a father to four-year-old son Ayvn Cullen Jones. Learn more about Jones here.

March 2024 Survey Method:
This survey was conducted online within the U.S.  by The Harris Poll on behalf of Leslie's from March 5-7, 2024, among 2,087 adults ages 18 and older, among whom 314 are maintaining a pool. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level.

2023 Survey Method:
This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by The Harris Poll on behalf of Leslie's from April 25-27, 2023, among 2,050 adults ages 18 and older, including 687 parents of children under age 18. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Poll surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within + 2.8 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest. 

*Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
**Source: statista.com for 2022
***Source: Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics

Media: Mardi Larson, Amendola for Leslie's, [email protected], 612.384.4383

SOURCE Leslie's