Swim Safety
Emily McNeill > Australian Swim Schools Association
Nation’s peak swim school body’s water safety message. Drowning is silent and seconds save lives. This is the message Australia’s peak swim school industry body is spreading far and wide after the pandemic pause on swimming lessons led to a national skills regression among young children. After two years of ongoing disruptions which forced swimming lessons to shut down and operate at a reduced capacity upon reopening, there has never been a better time to discuss the importance of swim safety. Protecting early swimmers who have missed out on this vital stage of their development should be at the forefront of parents, carers and teachers’ minds at all times when in close proximity to pools or waterways.
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EARLY EDITION > AUTUMN 2022
Alarmingly, Australia has recorded a 20% increase in drowning deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic according to the Royal Life Saving Society Australia. With millions of swimming lessons missed across the country in 2021, drowning deaths among children ages four and under increased by 108 per cent and drowning deaths among children aged between five and 12 years increased by 56 per cent compared to the previous year.
Additionally, half of children leaving primary school can’t swim continuously for 50 metres or float for two minutes in deep water which is the national swimming and water safety benchmark. Helping put an end to child drownings, the Australian Swim School Association (ASSA) is supporting hundreds of swim schools and families nationally in sharing the water safety message.
