Adult swimming participants with instructor Sheridan Duke in Leinster

Leinster locals prioritise water safety

The week before Christmas can be a busy time for many families, but that didn’t stop Leinster residents signing up for swimming lessons when Royal Life Saving WA came to town.

Swim instructor Sheridan Duke drove to the Goldfields town of Leinster on the 19th of December, to deliver a week of intensive holiday lessons for the community which included Infant Aquatics, Swim and Survive, Junior Lifeguard Club, and adult classes.

With the help of the local pool, Royal Life Saving coordinated online enrolments for the program which saw 35 children and adults sign up.  

With the help of Principal Community Partner BHP, Royal Life Saving was able to offer the classes at a partly subsidised rate, providing much needed lessons for the 35 locals.

Royal Life Saving WA Senior Manager of Education, Trent Hotchkin, said it was vitally important children in regional and remote WA learnt about water safety but often missed out because of a lack of instructors and facilities.

“People in these communities are 1.8 times more likely to drown than those in the Perth metro area. It highlights the need for improved access to appropriate swimming and water safety programs to ensure they have the knowledge and skills needed to participate safely in the unique aquatic environments that exist in these areas,” he said.

Swim Instructor Sheridan said the Leinster community really embraced having her in town for the week.

“The parents are passionate and understand the importance of learning to swim, so they took the opportunity to enrol their children even though it was the week before Christmas,” she said.

“The children were so well mannered and I think the town would be really supportive of any future lessons.” 

Royal Life Saving Endorsed Swim Schools Manager, Amy Benjamin, said it’s inspiring to see the community embrace swimming and water safety. 

“We always get such great feedback regarding the impact these lessons have on the participants, and we look forward to many more to come,” she said.

We’re currently working to improve the availability of instructors in regional areas, thanks to the State Government’s Jobs and Skills initiative, providing free Swim Teacher training for eligible young people across the state.

You can find a Swim Teacher by Royal Life Saving course near you at the link below.