As the weather heats up many of us are flocking to pools, rivers and beaches to cool down, but Dubbo swim instructors are reminding the entire community of the importance of knowing how to swim.
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The 2018 Royal Life Saving National Drowning Report revealed a total of 249 people drowned in Australian waterways between July, 1, 2017 and June, 30, 2018, with the largest proportion of drowning deaths taking place in summer.
While this is a 14 per cent reduction on 2016/17 and an 11 per cent reduction on the ten year average, it is no way a time for Australian’s to become complacent with their swimming skills.
NSW recorded the largest number of drowning deaths with 87.Swimming pools were the leading location for drowning among the zero to four year age group, accounting for 67 per cent of all drowning deaths.
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Swimming is a skill for life says Fitness Focus swimming instructors Emma Murphy, Sophie Brabrook and Teisha Toomey. Fitness Focus conducts 130 swimming lessons for children seven days a week, with children starting from three months of age.
“It doesn’t matter what level they are or how old they are there is always something new to learn,” Ms Murphy said who believes consistency in lessons is key to feeling confident in the water.
Ms Brabrook said it doesn’t matter how big your pool is or what facilities you have, you can still learn new skills every day.
“More and more parents are putting their children through swimming lessons but forget about themselves,” she said.
Ms Toomey agreed when she said “swimming is a skill for life – literally. There are adults who don’t know how to swim, which is sad,” she said.
Mother, Jay Darcy has taken her daughter Isla, who is four-years-old, to swimming lessons ever since she was 18 months old.
“I think swimming is an important skill for children to have these days,” Ms Darcy said.
“My father instilled it in our heads (to learn how to swim).
“As a parent you can’t control a lot of things these days, but you can control if your child knows how to swim to safety.”