Bidyadanga kids reap rewards in latest Lap Challenge

During the month of November, children in the remote community of Bidyadanga once again donned their goggles for the latest Go for 2 &5 Swim for Fruit Lap Challenge!

Held at the Bidyadanga Community Pool, this was the 5th Swim for Fruit Lap Challenge that has been run in the community and saw 88 swimmers participate this time around. Participants swam laps across the pool to earn a piece of fruit and a ticket to win some awesome prizes.

Pool Manager Bernie Egan said, “while we didn’t break our ‘most laps’ record set in March 2020, together we swam 11,613 laps for the month. A high effort when you consider that over half the swimmers are under 10 years old!”

“The lap challenge helps the kids to practice what they are learning in their school swimming lessons. As the swim teacher and challenge lap counter, I see that all the extra lap swimming helps the kids to improve their strokes and swim longer distances as their fitness builds,” she said.

A celebration of the kids’ achievements was held at the pool on December 1st to hand out prizes and medals to those swimmers who swam more than 250 laps over the month.

Three participants were rewarded with new bicycles for swimming the most laps in their age group, and there were many more prizes handed out including basketballs, Go for 2 and 5 bouncy balls and Swim and Survive packs.

The Go for 2 and 5 Regional and Remote Aboriginal Communities Swimming Program (or Swim for Fruit) aims to address the concerning drowning rate among Aboriginal Australians, as well as improving overall health by encouraging healthy eating and physical activity. The program is supported by Healthway and the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries, learn more at the link below.