Swimming safely
Photo by Karen Lehman Photography
Collecting the award on behalf of the Rotary Club at the 2019 Australia Day Awards ceremony were (from left): Maree Matanle, Past President; Gayle Gerrard, former co-ordinator; Lois Catchlove, current program co-ordinator; Kali Bierens, Margaret Armour and Brenda Moore (Austswim teachers).
THE FREE annual Learn to Swim and Water Safety Program will again be offered through the fundraising efforts of the Rotary Club of Deloraine and the support of the Meander Valley Council.
Registration Day will be held from 10am–4pm on Thursday 2 January at the Deloraine Pool, 25 West Parade. The program will run from Monday 6 January to Friday 17 January.
For more than 35 years, the Rotary Club of Deloraine has continued to support the Meander Valley community by offering fully funded, free swimming and water safety classes for young people, with aims to reduce deaths by drowning.
Rotary’s efforts were formally recognised this year, when the club received the Community Event of the Year Award for the program.
The Learn to Swim and Water Safety Program aims to develop the children’s awareness of safety in and around water. Each lesson begins with a water safety talk, where participants learn to identify dangers associated with different aquatic environments and adopt strategies to keep themselves and others safe.
The Royal Life Saving Society of Australia (RLSSA) believes that all Australian children have the right to a comprehensive swimming and water safety education. As explained by the RLSSA: ‘The skills of swimming, survival swimming and basic rescue are all lifesavers, yet we know that there are many barriers including cost, distance, awareness and access in communities most at risk of drowning. Drowning remains one of the leading causes of preventable death in children and reducing childhood drowning remains a worldwide challenge.’
Kali Bierens has been teaching for the program for fifteen years. During this period, over 1,370 children have been taught swimming and water safety.
‘The Rotary Club’s long term investment in this project has fostered healthy intergenerational relationships’, said Kali.
This became evident to Kali, on meeting a King Island mother enrolling her 5 year old daughter. For several years, the girl travelled with her mother from King Island to stay with her grandmother in Meander during the summer holidays, to attend the program. Her mother spoke with Kali on enrolment day and mentioned that she had also attended the program as a child. She was very appreciative of the service provided by Rotary.
Kali feels very fortunate to have had some very experienced senior teachers working alongside her, as mentors. Her parents Pam and John Ward both taught swimming for more than 50 years.
Other senior teachers such as Margaret Armour and Brenda Moore have more than 30 years of swimming teaching experience behind them.
For more information on the program, contact the Learn to Swim and Water Safety Co-ordinator, Lois Catchlove on 0411 118 212.
