More than 30,000 km of beach surrounds mainland Australia and that’s not including the 17,000km+ that surrounds our off-shore islands. This amounts to 10,685 named significant beaches!
There’s no hiding how much Australian’s love the water. It has become part of our culture. This is why learning to swim in Australia is so important.
Here are just a few reasons why learning to swim is important and how your life can be changed when you know how to swim.
Safety
This is one of the most important reasons why you should learn to swim. Swimming is a skill that can save your life. Living in such a warm country that is surrounded by vast coastlines, it is almost impossible to not come across an aquatic environment at some stage in your life. You simply can’t avoid water, which is why it is imperative that we all learn how to swim.
Royal Lifesaving Australia has released its annual national drowning report.
Over the past year, 248 people drowned in Australia. Of those who tragically lost their lives, 80% of drowning deaths were male and the age group which recorded the largest number of deaths is the 25-34 years age bracket.
This may come as a surprise for some but the leading locations for these drownings was rivers and creeks 21%, Ocean 20% and the beach 18%.
Unfortunately, too many Australian’s adopt the “this would never happen to me” attitude to drowning and don’t equip themselves or their children with the necessary water safety skills. A fall into the water was the primary cause of drowning deaths in children under five and the second-highest for those aged 65 and over. Many of these people had no intention of swimming and weren’t directly in the water, to begin with. That is why it’s important that adults and kids learn to swim and prepare themselves for any emergencies around water
Sadly, we can’t always be there for our children. At some point, they must go off to school camp or are invited for a weekend away with friends. Does your child know how to call for help when they are in trouble? Can they roll and float on their back or swim safely to the edge? Swimming lessons for kids are a vital part of growing up – to ensure your children are kept safe.
Drowning deaths of children aged 0-4 years increased by 32% from the previous year, with most toddlers drowning in their backyard swimming pool. At Just Swimming, we understand the importance of swimming lessons and most importantly infant water safety and now offer free swimming lessons for infants between 4-6 months.
Royal Lifesaving Australia’s Keep Watch Program encourages the following four actions for safer swimming this Summer:
1. Supervision
Whether you’re an Olympic swimmer or just starting out no one should ever swim alone
2. Restrict Access
Ensure that backyard pools are secure and all buckets, baths, and sinks are free from water (REMEMBER: Toddlers can drown in as little as 3cm of water)
3. Water Awareness
Equip yourself and your children with vital swimming and water safety skills, check for currents and rips and wear a life jacket
4. Learn Resuscitation
It is encouraged that all adults over the age of 18 learn CPR
Social Engagement
Swimming is a large part of an Australian Summer. As the weather warms, many Australian’s opt for days by the beach, river, lake or backyard pool. Many children may even celebrate their birthday with a pool party! There are so many opportunities for children and adults to ignite their social life if they know how to swim.
Swimming is fun!
Unfortunately, many adults and children are unable to share in this enjoyment and instead choose to avoid aquatic environments all together. Even activities such as kayaking, canoeing and water sports can be stressful for those who have not learnt to swim. For young people this can mean missing out on social occasions, being unable to participate in school sports or activities on school camps.
It is not only children that suffer from not knowing how to swim. For adults this could mean missing out on a beach holiday, a riverside camping trip or simply playing with their family comfortably at the pool.
Of the 291 people who drowned in Australian waterways this past year, 248 of them were aged 18 and over. It may come as a further surprise to hear that those aged 25-34 years accounted for the highest number of drowning deaths.
You are never too old to learn how to swim. Adult swim lessons are designed to provide adults of any age and swimming experience with the knowledge and skills to develop and improve their swimming and water safety skills. Allow yourself to enjoy the water this Summer!
Health & Wellbeing
Not only can swimming be a great addition to your social calendar, it also has the ability to change your life physically and mentally.
Two separate studies revealed that children who participate in swimming lessons at an early age have increased co-ordination, muscle strength, social skills, independence, cognitive ability, self-confidence, problem solving skills and IQ.
As swimming works every major muscle group it is a great way to increase muscle mass and bone strength and improve joint health. But did you know that exercise also help’s the memory to grow? The hippocampus which is the part of the brain that holds the memory, has been found to be larger for those who exercise in comparison to those who do not exercise. As the brain practices a skill, neural pathways grow and strengthen, making skills easier to grasp.
Swimming also promotes the release of endorphin’s, which leave you feeling happier, healthier and less stressed. When you start exercising, your brain recognizes this as a moment of stress. To protect yourself and your brain from stress, the body releases a protein called BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor). This protein protects and repairs your memory neurons and acts as a reset switch. That’s why we often feel so at ease and things are clear after exercising and eventually resulting in a feeling of happiness.
At the same time, endorphin’s, another chemical to fight stress, is released in your brain. These endorphins tend to minimize the discomfort of exercise, block the feeling of pain and are even associated with a feeling of euphoria.
Wondering when to start swimming lessons? If there’s one thing we know, it’s that you can never be too young or too old when learning to swim. This is why at Just Swimming, we host baby, kids, teens and adult swimming lessons in Melbourne.
These are just a few reasons why learning to swim can change your life. But don’t take our word for it, find out for yourself and contact us TODAY!
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