New swim school for Pannawonica thanks to three dedicated mums

14 August 2023

swimming instructor with two students in poolSarah Borg, Jasmin Gorman and Clair Mann are passionate about being mums, living in Pannawonica and the importance of children learning water safety skills and how to swim.

Unfortunately, their latter passion was yet to become a reality for their children and many others in the town, as Pannawonica didn't have a local swim school.

This meant kids were only able to undertake swimming lessons as part of VacSwim's once-a-year program, or if they found themselves in other parts of WA for an extended period of time.

swimming class holding kickboardsWhich is why they took it upon themselves to open their very own swim school after receiving qualifications to become Royal Life Saving WA Swim Teachers.

With hopes of being able to offer regular lessons on a school term basis, they wasted no time in launching an expression of interest for the Swim and Survive program, with over 70 participants looking to enrol from the age of four through to high school students.

For such a small town, numbers like these were unprecedented.

An assessment day was held soon afterwards to help group and schedule lessons for students in the near future.

This was a success with many happy parents and children grateful for these ladies’ efforts, with one dad singing their praises as "assets to have in our town."

swim teacher with students on a float matThe swimming lessons adhere to the Swim and Survive curriculum, with the instructors working closely with all students who attend.

Rescue components are also included, as the ladies believe their students need to build knowledge on basic water rescues with the local river only five minutes away.

Molly Singalin, mother of five-year-old, Candice, is thrilled her child is learning essential swimming skills and her confidence is increasing as a result.

"It's promoting exercise for her and has also been amazing for her self-esteem."

Molly detailed, it is not only her children she sees reaping the rewards, but also many other kids who never wanted to be in the water, much less put their head under.

"I think this is because of the lessons each week. If we didn't have this in town these children would continue to be behind in a skill that living in Australia is a requirement."

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