AUSTSWIM recognises Y NSW’s Dev Sappany as nation’s top swim instructor

Y NSW swim instructor at Ku-ring-gai Fitness and Aquatic Centre, Randev (Dev) Sappany, has been named the nation’s best adult swim instructor at the AUSTSWIM 2020 Awards of Excellence.

Sappany won both the State and National Access and Inclusion – Adults categories at the awards.

At just 24-years-old, Sappany has driven the expansion of Ku-ring-gai Fitness and Aquatic Centre’s adult swim programs to include intermediate and advanced levels, run adult intensive clinics, introduced parent and child family lessons and conducted more than 200 adult swim assessments. He is currently studying aeronautical engineering and uses his knowledge of fluid dynamics to analyse and improve his students’ strokes.  

Sappany said his passion for teaching adults comes from his students’ own drive noting “adults in swimming lessons are there because they want to be – you see a lot of them have gone through a few other swim schools because they weren’t getting what they wanted out of a lesson or they’re determined to learn something new. I like being able to figure how I can best help them reach their goals.”

Y NSW Chief Executive Susannah Le Bron said Sappany perfectly embodies the organisation’s belief in the power of inspired young people.

Le Bron advises “Dev has been with the Y since he was 14 years old as a receptionist at the Y Epping. Now at just 24 he has been nationally recognised for his lifesaving work teaching adults to swim.

“His contribution to the Y and our swim education programming is immense. He is the longest-standing member of the Ku-ring-gai Fitness and Aquatic Centre aquatic education team and the Y NSW thanks him deeply for his dedication and commitment.”

Y NSW Aquatics Specialist Simon Mullard thanked Sappany for his resilience and professionalism throughout 2020, “2020 was a challenging year for our learn-to-swim community as we were faced with four-month pool closures during lockdown. I am so proud of Dev and all of our Y NSW instructors for their resilience and adaptability to COVIDSafe measures and for jumping back in the pool as soon as they were able to help kids and adults alike prepare for summer.

“Swimming isn’t like riding a bike; after so long out of the pool, it takes time to rebuild confidence, fitness and technique. As we head into summer Australians need to be consistently practicing to ensure they reaquire some of those dormant skills to safely experience what the water world has to offer in the pool, beach, river or dam.”

Sappany said the impact of the four-month break on students’ skill levels has been significant and advised “a lot of our younger students came back after COVID and had taken considerable steps backward unfortunately. With adults, some of things we’d been working on had regressed and we had to go back a few months in terms of progress and technique.

“For a week or two after reopening some of that fear had also come back in because they hadn’t swum for some time. It’s great to be back in the pool now building that confidence back up.”

To find out more about Aquatics at the Y NSW visit ymcansw.org.au/aquatics/

Ku-ring-gai Fitness and Aquatic Centre is proudly managed by the Y NSW on behalf of Ku-ring-gai Council.

Image: Local swim instructor Dev Sappany, 24, in the pool at the Y NSW Ku-ring-gai Fitness and Aquatic Centre with an adult student