Making a splash: Ross Cuthbertson helps Millie, 2, and Fletcher, 4, learn swimming skills at Cosy Corner.
ERIN PEARSON
HALF-price swimming lessons have created a surge in swimming lessons on the Surf Coast, according to new enrolment figures.
Learn-to-swim body VICSWIM said that enrolments at Torquay had jumped from 143 in 2010 to 263 this year following a Baillieu Government cash injection of $1.6 million.
The funding brought VICSWIM weekly costs down from $57 to $25 per child.
VICSWIM regional coordinator Gillian Cooper said the price cut meant the organisation’s classes were often cheaper than traditional lessons.
Parents also had the option of beach or pool training, Ms Cooper said .
A drowning on the Surf Coast this summer highlighted the importance of children and adults learning how to swim, she said.
Dallas mother Demet Latifoglu died on January 22 while trying to rescue children from a rip at Urquhart Bluff, between Anglesea and Airey’s Inlet.
Ms Cooper said Torquay ran a beach-based program at Cosy Corner to teach children about ocean safety, floating and how to identify rips.
“VICSWIM is all about making kids knowledgeable about water and often we find they can then pass what they learn onto their family,” Ms Cooper said.
“With all the drownings and rescues we see it’s so import to educate kids.
“They can then say to their parents ‘We don’t want to swim here, we need a patrolled beach’.”
Ms Cooper said enrolments in Anglesea and Ocean Grove had also increased.
Minister for Sport and Recreation Hugh Delahunty said the ability to swim was an essential safety skill, particularly during summer when children were more inclined to play in and around water.
“Through the VICSWIM program kids not only learn important survival skills but they also have the chance to make new friends as well as boost their health by being more active more often,” he said.
A lack of State Government funding prevented VICSWIM programs in 2011.
