Blacktown City Council’s Aqua Learn to Swim program gets Swim Australia recognition

The team involved with Blacktown City Council’s Aqua Learn to Swim have been celebrating the recognition of their recent of the ‘Outstanding Community Service’ award at the 2022 Swim Australia Industry Awards .

With Swim Australia representing more than 600 swim schools nationwide, receiving a Swim Australia award represents national recognition and Aqua Learn to Swim was noted in particular for two of its key programs - Swim Sense and the CALD (Culturally & Linguistically Diverse) learn to swim program.

Congratulating the team on their achievement in receiving this honour, Blacktown City Council Mayor, Tony Bleasdale commented “this acknowledgment of the team across our five aquatic and leisure centres is a testament to their unwavering commitment to customer service.”

Mindful of the alarming levels of drowning death, Blacktown Council recognises there is a clear need to encourage multi-cultural and linguistically diverse adults in particular to learn about water safety and to learn to swim.

In an endeavour to reduce drownings, in 2021, Aqua Learn to Swim launched ‘Swim Sense’ - an adult water confidence program which runs each January and is free to residents in the Blacktown local government area.

The program educates adults in good water safety, beach safety and learn to swim.

This year, in collaboration with the Royal Life Saving Society NSW, the Council also launched its ‘CALD swimming program’. Funded by Royal Life Saving, the program is free to Cultural and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) adults.

The program ran in Term 2 and Term 3, providing learn to swim lessons to over 100 adults.

Blacktown’s aquatic venues also connected with SydWest Multicultural Services, Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS) and the Sikh community to raise awareness and encourage these communities to participate in this fantastic program.

Acknowledging these community links, Mayor Bleasdale added “we are pleased that Blacktown City Council’s Aqua Learn to Swim program has had such a positive impact on the community. No matter what your age, it’s never too late to learn to swim. It’s just as important for adults as it is for children.

“We are proud of our passionate and dedicated staff - all of whom go above and beyond to meet the needs of the local community.”

For more information on the Aqua Learn to Swim program go to www.aqualearntoswim.com.au

Image: The team (top row): Belinda Mcatear, Michelle Hartmann, Christine Mcdougall, Elizabeth Milutinovic and Julie Barker and (bottom row): Lisa Christoffersen, Blacktown City Mayor Tony Bleasdale OAM, Nyree Parkin, Kevin Jones and Lachlan Lawless.