Manukau swim initiative earns national excellence award

Manukau Leisure's Community Swim program has received the 2010 Project Collaboration Award at the New Zealand Sport and Recreation Sector Awards.

As Brett Jude, Manukau Leisure Services Limited's Chief Executive explains, "the prestigious national award (is) welcome recognition of the real benefits the project is delivering to tens of thousands of Manukau school children."

Award judges praised Community Swim for having a "vision about providing school children in Manukau with free swimming lessons" and making it happen.

Launched in 2008, Community Swim is operated by Manukau Leisure with the support of the John Walker 'Find Your Field of Dreams' Foundation. Community Swim has provided more than 72,000 free swimming lessons to over 10,000 school students in Manukau.

Jude added "this win is a huge credit to the commitment shown by Sir John Walker and all the partners involved to providing new opportunities to young people in Manukau.

"It has been an excellent example of community-minded organisations coming together quickly and effectively in a new way to meet a real community need."

The project is also supported by Watersafe Auckland and Manukau City Council.

Community Swim provides free, professional swimming lessons to school children from over 50 Manukau schools. Students are picked up from school by Manukau Leisure staff in special Community Swim buses (funded by The Lion Foundation) and driven to one of the five aquatic centres Manukau Leisure runs across the city.

This year Community Swim has been expanded to deliver free swimming tuition to Year 5 children as well as Years 3 and 4. The programme is also made available to schools with their own pools onsite.

The program was a feature in the November/December 2009 issue of Australasian Leisure Management. 

15th December 2009 - FREE SWIMMING: AN END OR A BEGINNING?

4th November 2009 - SCHOOL SWIMMING POOL CLOSURES RISING 

17th August 2009 - KIWISPORT INITIATIVE GOOD FOR CHILDREN 

3rd April 2009 - FREE SPORT AND RECREATION FOR MANUKAU YOUTH

24th October 2008 - MANUKAU LEISURE PERFORMS AHEAD OF BUDGET

21st August 2008 - JUDE HEADS MANUKAU LEISURE SERVICES 

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