VacSwim school holiday swimming program begins in Western Australia

Western Australia's VacSwim program, the largest program of its kind in Australia, has been launched for the summer school holidays.

More than 50,000 Western Australian children are expected to participate in the swimming lessons, which provide training in all levels of water safety from beginner to advanced survival, rescue and lifesaving.

Launching the program at the Beatty Park Leisure Centre, Western Australian Education Minister Peter Collier said it was crucial that children learned to be safe in and around the water, stating "with thousands of kilometres of beautiful coastline and very warm summers, water safety is of upmost importance in Western Australia."

Lesson in the VacSwim program cost just $1 a day, plus pool entry, with nearly 400 programs to conducted at more than 200 beach and pool locations across the State, for children aged between five and 17 years.

Minister Collier said the aim of VacSwim was to ensure all Western Australian children had access to a safe, high quality swimming and water safety program, adding "we all need a strong awareness about the dangers associated with water activities."

The VacSwim program began in 1919 when five instructors taught 248 children at three venues.

It is now the largest vacation swimming program in Australia, with more than 1,500 qualified instructors.

For information and updates on classes visit the VacSwim website at www.det.wa.edu.au/swimming