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Burbank YMCA joins Guinness World Record for largest swimming lesson

Left to right in the water, Swim instructors Violeta Oganesyan, Kyara R. and Tara Crawford and their students wait for class to begin during the World's Largest Swim Lesson at the Burbank Community YMCA on Tuesday, June 18, 2013. Locations throughout the world participated to break the Guinness World Record and spread the word that swimming lessons save lives.
Left to right in the water, Swim instructors Violeta Oganesyan, Kyara R. and Tara Crawford and their students wait for class to begin during the World’s Largest Swim Lesson at the Burbank Community YMCA on Tuesday, June 18, 2013. Locations throughout the world participated to break the Guinness World Record and spread the word that swimming lessons save lives.
(Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)
By Alene Tchekmedyian, <i><a href=”mailto:alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com”>alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com</a></i>

About 35,000 swimmers — including 25 from Burbank — dipped into more than 700 pools around the world on Tuesday, breaking the previous Guinness World Record set for the largest simultaneous swimming lesson ever conducted, according to the Burbank YMCA.

PHOTOS: Burbank YMCA participates in the world’s largest swimming lesson

This marks the fourth consecutive year during which the record was broken. Last year, just 24,000 swimmers participated, said Yvette Herrera, director of philanthropy and community engagement for the Burbank YMCA.

“It’s about water safety,” Herrera said, adding that drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children between 1 and 5 years old.

Among the 23 countries participating were Bahrain, Lebanon, Argentina, the United Kingdom and Japan.

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Follow Alene Tchekmedyian on Google+ and on Twitter: @atchek.

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