Burringurrah children enjoy swimming success

Royal Life Saving WA continues to partner with the Education Department to ensure children in the most remote parts of WA have an opportunity to take part in Swim and Survive swimming and water safety lessons. One of the most recent programs involved children from the remote Gascoyne community of Burringurrah.

Burringurrah is about 48kms east of Carnarvon and is an Aboriginal community with a population of just over 100. The community is home to one of our Remote Aboriginal Swimming Pools, thanks to funding from the Department of Communities.

Pool Manager Aaron Jacobs says it was great to see the children have an opportunity to improve their swimming skills, with many passing their swimming stage over the two-week program. “The most notable improvements were five-year-old Nathan Edwards and four-year-old Tra'dyn Morrison. They were both virtual non-swimmers at the beginning on the swim lessons and had a considerable fear of being out of their depth. They improved in their gliding, floating and general water confidence at an amazing speed. It is fantastic to see the children grow in skills and water confidence. It is now difficult to get them out of the pool at the days end!”

The children were also able to show off their newly developed skills by taking part in the Go For 2&5 Swim for Fruit program at the pool. Swim for Fruit a program supported by Healthway encourages children in regional communities to swim laps at their local pool and rewards them for their swimming efforts with a healthy afternoon tea following each session. Those achieving a prescribed number of laps are also eligible to earn incentive prizes such as goggles, Swim & Survive packs, t-shirts and flippers.

We’re so pleased to see the Burringurrah children enjoying the swimming programs provided at their local pool and learning vital skills to stay safe across the summer school holidays.

You can read more about our programs for Aboriginal children in regional WA at the link below.