Children from Three Springs enjoying their first Swim for Fruit season
Swim for Fruit debut season sparks success for Three Springs community
Children in Three Springs have been learning a range of new skills in their first season of the Go for 2&5 Swim for Fruit Program, completing various aquatic challenges to earn themselves a healthy afternoon tea.
Three Springs is a quaint country town located in the heart of the Mid West region’s Wildflower Country 313 kilometres north of Perth, with a small population of roughly 600 people. With a 50-metre pool located in the town, children were able to engage in a range of aquatic activities through the Swim for Fruit program over the summer months, including Junior Lifesaving Club, artistic swimming and water polo.
The Go for 2&5 Swim for Fruit Program, supported by Healthway and facilitated by Royal Life Saving WA, helps to promote healthy lifestyles and physical activity in remote and regional Aboriginal communities, including Three Springs, where the disease risk rate is higher. The incentive of an afternoon tea of healthy fruits encourages students to participate in fun aquatic-based activities that also educate them in essential water safety skills.
Pool Manager Vikki Thomas is already eager to have the program return over the 2022/23 summer given the success of its first season. “I have had heaps of fun with the Swim for Fruit program, we did a variety of things ranging from water polo to dragon boat races, and lucky swimmer,” Vikki said. “I gave out balloons and Walter the Watchdog that was donated by Royal Life Saving WA along with some towels kindly donated by Speedo. Meedac, our local indigenous community, donated goggles for the children to use.”
The support of the community in providing the necessary resources for children to be able to participate in the program has ensured that more people in the Three Springs community can access basic lifesaving and swimming skills that contribute to drowning prevention in WA. With Aborignal children being 3.6 times more likely to drown than non-Aboriginal children, Swim and Survive programs such as the Swim for Fruit initiative are crucial to ensuring everyone can enjoy Australian waterways safely.
With children in Three Springs thriving in their first season of Swim for Fruit, they’re already hanging out for its return in November this year!
To read more about the Go for 2&5 Swim for Fruit program, its impact and benefits, visit the link below:
