Kambalda kids learn to Swim and Survive

Royal Life Saving WA’s Infant Aquatics and Swim and Survive programs have been a great success since arriving in Kambalda, with the community diving at the chance to enrol their children. 

The programs ran for five weeks during Term One at the community swimming pool, with all participants’ lessons fully funded thanks to Principal Community Partner, BHP. 

Qualified Swimming Instructor and Community Trainer, Di Crisp, is a local within the Kambalda community and an asset to Royal Life Saving, running the swimming lessons each Wednesday afternoon.

“There has been so much interest in the swimming lessons! It was a very busy program,” she said.

The programs saw 29 participants across Term One, with 21 enrolments for Infant Aquatics, focusing on water awareness and basic survival for children up to the age of three years.

Statistics show that youth drowning is 2.8 times more likely to occur in regional WA, with Aboriginal Australians 1.8 times at greater risk.

Providing opportunities for remote and regional communities like Kambalda to advance their water safety skills is particularly important in addressing groups that are over-represented in drowning statistics. 

The past term has been the first time that continuous weekly programs have been able to run in Kambalda, as the result of plans to support an increase in swimming lesson participation.

Royal Life Saving WA Endorsed Swim Schools Manager, Amy Benjamin, comments on the importance of this step in making water safety education more widely accessible. 

“Having weekly lessons available in Kambalda for the first time is a fantastic opportunity for the community, it is great to see participants of all ages involved in this program!”

To learn more about how Royal Life Saving’s Swim and Survive program makes a difference in regional and remote communities, visit the link below.