Victorian Minister for Sport & Recreation to attend MSAC's Swim School Christmas Party

Victoria's Minister for Sport and Recreation and Minister for Veterans' Affairs Hugh Delahunty will attend the Melbourne Sport and Aquatic Centre (MSAC) Swim School Christmas Party at the Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre today (Sunday 16th December), addressing up to 500 children and their families who have participated in swimming lessons at MSAC throughout 2012.

The inaugural MSAC Swim School Christmas Party is set to become an annual event to celebrate the successes of students throughout the year.

In 2012, the MSAC Swim School taught over 10,000 people how to swim, ranging from children aged six months through to adults and competition squads.

Regarded as one of the leading swim schools in Australia, the MSAC Swim School embodies the Melbourne Sports Hub's philosophy of 'Developing Champions in Life'.

Melbourne Sports Hub Chief Executive Simon Weatherill spoke of the MSAC Swim School's role in Developing Champions in Life through swimming lessons and water safety.

Weatherill explained "when we talk about Developing Champions in Life, we are talking about people developing themselves through sport, recreation and education.

"An example of this would be a parent who is bringing their child to a Learn to Swim lessons. We are trying to achieve an alignment of our values of what we believe is important and what the bench mark is. If our benchmark for swimming is that a child can swim 1km in the bay in most conditions, this might be a six or seven year process. During that journey we are teaching the child to be the best they can be, develop healthy habits, build social networks and develop skills for life."

"It's fantastic to have the attendance of the Minister for Sport & Recreation, and it will be a thrill for the children to meet him and listen to him talk."

The MSAC Swim School Party will include a 'Class of 2012' photo in the outdoor pool stand, followed by a range of activities for the children and their families to celebrate, including SplashOUT, MSAC's latest attraction the FlowRider, a jumping castle, inflatable foosball and a visit from Santa.