Learning the ropes at the Mt Magnet Swimming Pool
Mt Magnet kids thrive in recent swim season
The kids in Mount Magnet have soaked up more than just the sun in their recent pool season, kicking swimming and lifesaving goals through the Swim for Fruit, Respect the River and Junior Lifeguard Club programs.
The Go for 2 & 5 Swim for Fruit program, which incentivises swimming laps with a healthy treat, has helped to encourage nutritious eating and physical activity in local Indigenous children. Delivered by Courtney Taylor from the WA Centre for Rural Health, and Emily from Centacare Family Services, who volunteered her time to support the program, the kids went above and beyond to acquire new skills.
“The kids absolutely loved Swim for Fruit,” said Courtney. “We would swim for about 45 minutes and then sit down in the sun to have our fruit for afternoon tea and a yarn.”
Funded by Healthway, the program saw many personal achievements for the children. One student Jamelia, achieving more than 20 consecutive laps of the pool by the end of the program.
Another young student, Michaela, became one of the most confident swimmers of the program after starting the season nervous about completing laps by herself and needing the aid of a kickboard. She finished the season happily swimming eight consecutive laps without the aid of a kickboard.
As well as the success of the Swim for Fruit program, children also participated in the Junior Lifeguard Club facilitated by Mount Magnet Primary School teacher Miss Bianca. The kids developed a strong foundation in a range of lifesaving skills, including safe water entries, common water hazards, rescue techniques, using lifejackets and survival skulling.
The Junior Lifeguard Club offers a unique aquatic alternative to young water lovers, providing them with core lifesaving skills, leadership opportunities and a safe space to build friendships. Children thrived in the program with some going on to become junior instructors, teaching the younger kids how to do rope and tube rescues.
These programs are all part of Royal Life Saving WA’s mission to ensure everyone has swimming and water safety skills as well as instilling that everyone can be a lifesaver. With the recent WA Drowning Report finding that 25.7% of all fatal drownings occur in remote WA, these programs support drowning prevention amongst vulnerable groups.
Many thanks to Miss Bianca and Emily who generously volunteered their time to support the success of the programs over the recent swim season, and to the Federal Government and Geraldton Sporting Aboriginal Corporation who helped make it possible. We can’t wait to welcome everyone back for more aquatic fun in the next pool season!
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