New YMCA TV campaign to target water safety in at-risk communities

As annual drowning rates continue at alarming levels, a new national TV campaign from the YMCA, in partnership with the SBS Foundation, is calling for all Australians, particularly those from Indigenous and culturally-diverse communities, to learn to swim.

The 30-second campaign launches today on SBS in an attempt to raise awareness about the importance of learning to swim to save lives among our nation's most 'at risk' communities, Australia's Indigenous population and new migrants, many of whom have not grown up around open water.

These communities are also more likely to be faced with financial and geographic barriers to learning to swim, barriers that need to be broken, according to the Y.

The Y's plea that it's never too early or too late to learn, swimming is a skill for all ages, genders and ethnicities echoes that of Royal Life Saving Society Australia (RLSSA) which is currently calling for swimming lessons to be compulsory for all school children. However, the Y believes the need for swimming lessons extends a lot further than among children, with 205 of the 284 drowning deaths in Australia in the year to June 2012 aged 25 and over.

What's more, Indigenous Australians are over three times more likely to drown than other Australians.

YMCA of NSW Chief Executive Phillip Hare explains "for many Australians, learning to swim is a birth right, but with an estimated 50,000 children leaving primary school unable to swim 50 metres and national drowning rates at alarming levels, it's clear that too many people continue to miss out.

"Among our Indigenous and new migrant population, the cost of lessons and the availability of programs and services to suit their cultural needs are resulting in many going through life without basic swimming skills.

"At the Y we strongly believe that swimming cannot be a skill that discriminates. Our mission that no one willing but unable to pay for lessons will be denied access and our range of programs targeting the young, old and those from culturally and linguistically diverse communities across the country aims to ensure that more people in need are given access to swimming lessons."

RLSSA Chief Executive Rob Bradley commended the YMCA on its powerful message to communities across Australia, adding "we applaud the efforts of the YMCA to ensure that all Australians realise the importance of learning to swim to stay safe in the water.

"As an industry we are working towards a reduction in drowning deaths by 50% by the year 2020 and this campaign will help to achieve this by reaching communities in need and encouraging people to enrol in swimming lessons."

The campaign will run on SBS until March.

To view the campaign video or for more information visit www.www.ymcasydney.org/learntoswim 

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