Life skill: catch ’em young

After more than 20 drownings throughout the holiday season, a Noosa swimming instructor is urging people to learn to swim as soon as possible.
Throughout the 2016/’17 holiday season, 22 people drowned Australia-wide, and just this month a girl was taken to hospital after nearly drowning in a pool at the RACV Resort in Noosa.
Noosa Aquatic Centre (NAC) swim program supervisor Rita Montague said she was glad to see an increase in parents teaching their kids to swim from an early age.
“Parents are becoming more educated as we see many more starting lessons with their babies from 6 months of age, which is great,” she said.
“However, we also see many children stop swimming too soon to take up another sport. Swimming is a life skill, not just a sport but a skill that may save their life one day.
“Teach a child to swim well when they are young and they have that skill for life.”
Ms Montague said it was important to keep up lessons so children can learn to survive in different aquatic environments.
“Besides supervision and swimming skills, children also need water safety knowledge. They need to be aware of the dangers and know how to survive in different aquatic environments. I believe that is why we are seeing so many teens and adults drowning,” she said.
“Many children are not given the opportunity (to experience different environments) for whatever reason and some children only get the opportunity of attending school swimming programs.
“However, with school curriculums taking precedence, school swimming programs are on the decline. So we have many children finishing primary school who can’t swim 50 metres.”
Ms Montague said it was never too late to learn to swim. The NAC offers free swimming lessons for babies aged 3 to 6 months to help them become familiar with the water.
Term lessons will start soon as school returns, but the centre can cater for all ages and abilities from babies to adults and everyone in between.
Phone the NAC on 5448 0288 or email naclts@noosa.qld.gov.au for more information on how to get started with swimming lessons today.