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Matakana in Northland is central to many beaches, ranging from tidal bays with creeks to long surf beaches like Omaha and Tawharanui Regional Park. There are also two significant rivers, and many people live on farms or lifestyle blocks where there are dams, ponds, etc.

Ruth Mills – owner of The Swim Aquademy – teaches from her home pool in Matakana. It is a 12 x 6m outdoor heated pool, 1.0 metre at the shallow end and 1.8 metres at the deep end.

Ruth’s approach is to teach swimming from a water safety perspective rather than giving emphasis to the four competitive strokes. Key to this is helping students feel comfortable and relaxed in their aquatic environment, then develops stamina and functional propulsion for whatever situation they may encounter. Deep water experience is introduced from the very start, and providing lessons in coping with moving water (currents, waves etc) with the help of swim jets.

At least two weeks per term are devoted entirely to water safety and survival skills, with all other lessons incorporating 10 - 25%, depending on level; Ruth also makes good use of the Water Safety New Zealand brochures and handouts.

Ruth previously operated Waiwera Swim School at Waiwera Thermal Resort, and Kowhai Swim School at Mahurangi College pool in Warkworth, where training sessions for proficient swimmers are still held.

To contact Swim Aquademy phone Ruth Mills on (09) 422 9762 or email ruth@swimaquademy.co.nz.

SFL MERCHANDISE

To support and promote the Swim For Life brand, Water Safety New Zealand has produced a number of resources with the Swim For Life logo printed on them. This logo is fast-becoming recognised as the symbol of the learn to swim and survive sector.

WSNZ plan to continue building the value of this brand in conjunction with New Zealand Swim Coaches and Teachers Association and New Zealand Recreation Association. As such there are two items you should note:

1. To use the Swim For Life brand you must have signed the SFL Branding Agreement. Should you be interested in pursuing and signing this please contact Roger immediately.

2. Economies of scale in bulk purchasing mean opportunities exist for us to produce merchandise for the sector. We would like to investigate the needs/requirements of swim schools/aquatic facilities in terms of co-branding.

As part of this strategy we want to ask you an important question: would your aquatic facility/swim school be interested in swim caps that are branded with Swim For Life on one side and your facility/swim school logo on the other?

This is a general question and consideration will be made given to product quality and existing agreements swim schools have with preferred suppliers.

Please email Roger  now with your comments.

SWIM & SURVIVE PORIRUA STYLE

Recreation Porirua has been running their schools’ learn to swim and survive programme for three years at the Cannons Creek Pool. In that time there have been 16 Schools participate in the programme with a total of around 3,200 swimmers.

Murray Wilson, Recreation Programmer (Aquatics), says “Our goal for the programme is to make swim & survive lessons accessible to all children in the area regardless of socio-economic status. To this end we run the lessons at cost and also assist schools to find outside funding if required” 

Thanks to Swim For Life® we have already given out 250 Swim For Life swim caps. At Russell School they have become a fashion item with children wearing them outside of the pools.”

We say “great stuff” and “well done Recreation Porirua”!

To contact Trust Porirua Aquatic Centre phone (04) 237 1521 or Cannons Creek Pool (04) 237 7944.

SWIM AND SURVIVE TIPS

Recovery Skill

You sometimes hear parents talk about what happens when a child falls face down in a pool or pond. Sometimes the child won’t stand up, even if the water is very shallow and they could stand up in it easily. They stay face down in a starfish position until picked up.

This is why children – even toddlers – are taught to “recover” from a front float. Unless this skill is taught, a child doesn’t know how to correct itself from the prone position. It is vital that it is taught to all ages.

This is also why these steps are used to encourage children to put their feet on the bottom. Learning how to move in the water from a horizontal to a vertical position is not as easy you might think! The size of the head in proportion to the rest of the body is much greater in a child, and it reduces as we grow. 

It is important that this recover skill is revisited if a child has been out of lessons for a period of time. Balance skills need to be reinforced. Just like riding a bike you are always wobbly when you first ‘get back in the seat’, but very quickly balance is regained. Should this skill be overlooked, a child’s head will be arched up when trying to stand and they could possibly ingest or aspire water. Aside from being potentially dangerous, this will also impact on the confidence of the child.

Revise recovery every swim and survive lesson: Eyes open, feet down, stand up.

WSNZ gratefully thanks NZSCAT and Sue Mayo for this month’s Swim and Survive Tip. © Sue Mayo 2006.

Case Study:

TAUPO SWIMS FOR LIFE!

The AC Baths in Taupo is a hotbed of learn to swim and survive activity. Over a 12-month period there were 11,123 student attendances from eight primary schools utilising the AC Baths for their learn to swim and survive classes. For FREE!

In addition, 13 Professional Development sessions were held in the Taupo District with 149 participants attending: 23 of those participants are now certified. 18 of the 20 schools in the district – plus home schools – are now registered to the programme. Currently four primary schools are utilising the AC Baths Swim Academy to assist with instructing of their swim and survive lessons.

AC Baths & Taupo Events Centre Holiday Programme held a very successful Water Safety programme over the summer 2006 holidays. So successful in fact that it has planned a pool day on Friday 21st April 2006, with kayaking and water safety survival skills in the morning and snorkelling and aqua games during the afternoon.

Mangakino Area School now have a Learn to Swim and Survive programme in their school curriculum. Ten junior school teachers have attended professional development and arrangements have been made to utilise the Tokoroa Aquatic Centre in the third term of every year. Mangakino council are planning to build a pool beside the school complex in the near future.

Recently the Lake Taupo District Sports Advisory Council were successful in obtaining funding for 40 life jackets and 20 life vests. In addition they have raised funding to assist with pool entry for primary school children to participate in learn to swim and survive lessons, an assessor to visit primary schools in the district to support and assess teachers instructing learn to swim & survive, and professional development training for 294 participants from the Taupo district.

To contact AC Baths or AC Baths Swim Academy call Lil Hancock – Aquatic Programmes Supervisor on (07) 376 0350.