Kent State’s Department of Recreational Services participated in a worldwide event Thursday to attempt to break a Guinness World Record for World’s Largest Swimming Lesson.

The current record is 36,564 individuals receiving a swim lesson at one time. It was set during last year’s event in June 2014.

This year, about 68 children participated in the event at Kent State. 

The event is meant to raise awareness for drowning deaths, which is the second-leading cause of accidental death for children ages 1-14.

It will take a few weeks for Guinness World Records to determine if a record was actually broken.

This is the third year Kent State has participated in the event, which was organized by Chris Baker, aquatics coordinator, and Abby Millsaps, marketing coordinator for the Department of Recreational Services.

Contact Emily Mills at [email protected].