Gingin Swim and Survive Program with Seastarz
Children in regional WA are five times more likely to drown that those in the Perth metropolitan area, making it vital to ensure they don’t miss out on learning vital Swim and Survive skills through access to swimming and water safety lessons.
The reality is that in many communities, a swimming and water safety education is simply not accessible, and alarmingly, thousands of Australian children leave primary school without sufficient skills to save their own life in water.
The Swim and Survive Fund provides swimming and water safety courses for children experiencing social or economic disadvantage. Royal Life Saving utilises donations from individuals, community organisations, corporate supporters and partner facilities to increases access to safe aquatic facilities, qualified instructors and to provide structured swimming and water safety education programs.
Between November 2016 and March 2017 37 children in Gingin were given access to Swim and Survive classes through the WA Swim and Survive Fund, in partnership with the Seastarz Swim School.
Louise Schmidt, owner of Seastarz, travelled from Perth to the Gingin Aquatic Centre once a week during the 15 week program, teaching a variety of lessons from parent and baby Infant Aquatics classes through to Swim and Survive stage 5. Louise says the program had a great impact!
“We were pleased to get nervous swimmers in the water and those who were already more confident to swim safely. We were also able to provide private lessons for some who wanted a 1 on 1 lesson to improve technique.”
The students involved were aged from just six months through to 11 years, and each child made significant progress in their swimming and water safety skills. Louise says “most of the children progressed by a stage, but some returning students managed to jump 2 stages due to their hard work and practice.”
Seastarz is a Royal Life Saving Society Endorsed Swim School, dedicated to teaching all people to swim confidently. They offer year round lessons in the purpose built, intimate setting of their heated Joondalup pool, perfect for those who struggle with noise, distractions and crowded classes. They also offer mobile lessons during the summer months in your own pool.
Royal Life Saving Society WA is proud to have been able to partner with Seastarz dedicated staff I, in providing these seasonal classes at Gingin, and looks forward to the return of the program next summer.