It has been a real pleasure talking to our students and their parents and listening to stories of triumph, place-getting as well as the fun they had in participating. One of the recurring conversations with parents was the fact that they "just wanted their child to participate and not be sitting all day being just a spectator".

If your child is nearing the age when they can become eligible or weren't quite ready to compete this time round, here are some tips to get your child ready for the school swimming carnival the next time it comes around.

1. Consistency is the key:  
Turning up regularly to your lessons is extremely important in skill acquisition. Just like learning other physical skills such as tennis, surfboard riding, ice-skating etc swimming requires time and practice. Turning up to your lessons is vital to the learning process!

2. No Breaks over Winter:
The next block of school swimming carnivals start again in December 2020 (Catholic Primary Schools) and in February 2021 (Public Schools). So, we have roughly 10-12 months to prepare. By "taking a 3-4 month break over winter" and returning in September/ October it leaves only 8-12 weeks to "catch-up" to lost skill practice and swimming fitness levels. It's even less if you take into account a summer holiday vacation. This places a child's preparation at a disadvantage compared to the child who swims all year round maintaining and further developing their swim skills and swimming fitness levels. So my tip is to swim through winter for the best possible preparation. We have indoor heated facilities all year round, so no matter what the weather outside the learner will be comfortable.

3. Dives and Turns Classes:
Enroll your child in our dives and turns classes to prepare their diving and tumble turning skills for race day. These classes teach your child how to do a dive and tumble turn and they run all year round. We have classes on both weekdays and weekends so check with our reception staff for further details and availability.

4. Race Skills Course:
Over the January school holiday period we had amazing success with students participating in our "Race Skills Course". Many students benefited from our coaches expertise and tuition in further advancing their race starts, turns and streamline skills in all four competitive strokes. We will be running a Race Skills Course every school holidays.
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5. Swim Club / Friday Night Races:
Turning up to a school swimming carnival for the first time can be quite daunting. To help make the experience easier and more enjoyable why not come along to our Friday night races with Jones Swim Club. Everyone is welcome. Jones swim club is a caring and supportive environment and a great way to be introduced to swim races. The races are held every second Friday night. Please check with our reception staff for more details.

Hopefully the above tips help in giving parents a few suggestions on how to best prepare your child to prepare for the next swimming carnival. As always if you have any further questions, please contact one of our friendly staff who will be more than happy to help you. We want to see your child excel!
 
Author: John Sortwell - Centre Manager, ex-competitive swimmer, father of 3 and aquatic educator for over 25 years.

Royal Life Saving Society Australia (RLSS Australia) released a survey report into parents' and carers' behaviour around home swimming pools. RLSS Australia in conjunction with Griffith University surveyed more than 500 parents of children under 5 in NSW who have access to a home swimming pool. This included both owners of backyard swimming pools and those living in apartment complexes with a pool.
 
For children aged under 5 years old, home swimming pools are the leading location for drowning.

There were two key safety messages which were the focus of this survey:
1.    Supervision around home swimming pools
2.    Restriction of access around home swimming pools

The results revealed that among parents of children under 5 years old, there is a greater value placed on supervision than restricting access to this age group. Whilst 63% of respondents reported always supervising children around their pool in the previous month, only 45% reported always restricting access to their pool in the previous month.

This is a major concern as statistics show that lacking either of these factors contributes to drowning deaths. RLSS Australia have previously published data following a 13 year study into drowning deaths in NSW. Looking at children under 5 years old who had drowned in a home swimming pool, supervision was completely absent in the majority of cases.

Regarding access to the pools, data revealed that of those children who had drowned in this period:

• 36.4% gained access through a faulty fence or gate
• 31.8% gained access to the pool due to a lack of fencing
• 18.2% gained access through a gate that was propped open

This data confirms the absolute necessity of both constant active supervision and restricting access with compliant, well maintained fencing.

Royal Life Saving Society’s Keep Watch Advice:
1.    Supervise: All your attention, all of the time
2.    Restrict Access: Ensure there is an adequate barrier between the water and your child
3.  Water Awareness: Enrol in swim lessons to gain familiarity and water confidence
4.    Resuscitate: Learn the life saving skills of CPR

Author: Josephine Moss (Swim School Coordinator)

Myth: Children who have not upgraded to a new level in a while are not progressing.

Fact: For a student to upgrade to the next level, they need to learn several small skills to master the overall 'goal' of the current level. A student does not acquire all these skills immediately. Rather, learning is a process in which skills are acquired in increments which may seem small or insignificant but which are in fact vital to mastering each level.

For example, in our White Stingray level where students are learning the Breaststroke kick, there are several components to mastering the correct technique. Students need to be able to turn their feet out, perfect the motion and build the strength required to generate the 'push' (and this is only the basics!)

Our teachers and supervisors know how tricky it is to master just one of these skills and understand the importance of celebrating with a child when they do. From a parents point of view it may seem as though the progression is non-existent, when in fact your child is working hard at making small (but still significant!) gains within their level.

We encourage you to speak with our pool deck supervisors who monitor our students' progress closely. They will be able to explain the achievements already made in your child's level as well as the skills still to be attained, and will even be able to provide you and your child with some extra tips and encouragement. Look for them on pool deck in the red shirts!

​Author: Josephine Moss (Swim School Coordinator)

In previous months, we have shared the results of Royal Life Saving Society’s National Drowning Report 2019 revealing some pleasing statistics such as a 30% reduction in drowning of children under the age of five compared to the 10 year average.
 
Whilst this is a positive step in the right direction, the latest statistics are concerning. Alarmingly, adults accounted for the most drowning deaths in the 2018 - 2019 period, with more than 85% of drowning deaths occurring in people aged 18 and older. Some of the risk factors identified in drowning deaths for adults include pre-existing medical conditions, alcohol use and drug use - overwhelmingly from legal medications.
 
What message can we take from this horrific figure? The first, and perhaps most obvious is that learning to swim is an essential skill for any age group, including adults. It is never too late to learn. 
 
Another important message is to take the time to survey your surroundings, particularly at the beach and inland waterways such as rivers and creeks. Follow the advice of lifeguards by swimming between the red and yellow flags. Educate yourself on how to spot a rip and how to get yourself to safety if you find yourself caught in one. The Sydney Morning Herald recently released an interactive guide on how to spot a rip. We urge our families to view this article and even share with your children. It includes visuals of some of Sydney’s most popular beaches, including beaches our families frequent, clearly showing rips along the shore. 
 
Along with teaching adults how to swim and surveying and supervising the scene in aquatic environments, have you considered the importance of continued swimming? Perhaps one of the most misguided thoughts in regards to swimming, and certainly one we hear from parents far too often is that “I just want my child to know how to save themselves.” This is problematic for several reasons, particularly because parents view swimming lessons as a way to make their children ‘drown proof.’ There is no such thing as a child being ‘drown proof,’ nor water safe. Swimming in any environment ALWAYS carries a risk and an element of danger, and these are heightened outside of the controlled environment of a swimming lesson.
 
The National Water Safety Strategy 2008-2011 identified that there are falling swimming and water safety achievement levels in children across Australia. A key reason for this is parents stopping swimming lessons too early. Some parents see that their child has hit a ‘plateau’ – a naturally occurring stage when learning any skill, not just those in swimming – and stop swimming. Others see their children reach a benchmark such as being able to swim independently, or master freestyle and cease lessons. Another common misconception amongst parents is that squads are for those who want to pursue a competitive career in swimming. We often hear “I don’t want my child to go to the Olympics, I just want them to learn how to swim!” as though swimming in a squad is only for ‘serious’ swimmers and not simply an extension of what is learnt in the learn-to-swim program. Whilst there is a focus nationwide on learn-to-swim, that should not signal the end of an aquatic education.
 
Skills are quickly lost in times of danger and panic and even strong swimmers can find themselves struggling in difficult and life threatening situations. Shane Daw, Surf Life Saving Australia's Coastal Safety Manager, points out that "there's a big disconnect where we need people to stop overestimating their ability. Things can go wrong and they can go wrong very quickly."

To give your child the best aquatic education, children are encouraged to continue developing their skills, fitness and technique well beyond the learn-to-swim program. Squads provide students with the chance to consolidate their skills to take into adulthood. Learning to swim is similar to learning a language – to become proficient and fluent in a language requires an initial learning period followed by a consolidation period. If a student ceases to speak in that language (even if they were once proficient at it) their ability to converse easily decreases over time. To truly be fluent in a language requires regular practice over a long period of time, just like swimming.   

Author: Josephine Moss (Swim School Coordinator)
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To check out the interactive guide to spotting a rip,                                                                see: https://www.smh.com.au/interactive/2018/how-to-spot-a-rip/

On Saturday 9 November 2019, Jones Swim Club attended the Peakhurst ASC annual Junior Mini Meet for 10 year olds and under. It was a busy day with 19 clubs from around Sydney competing, and a total of 91 swimmers racing throughout the course of the day. Jones Swim Club had 19 of their junior members representing the club on the day, and these 19 swimmers walked away with an astounding 52 medals between them! There were also 9 new records made on the day - 6 of those by Jones Swim Club members. Congratulations to Jovial and Thomas who smashed out 6 new records!

Check out all our medal winners!

For more information on Jones Swim Club, including our timetable of racing nights, head to our website:

Last month, Royal Life Saving Society Australia released their annual National Drowning Report 2019. There has been some encouraging progress in reducing drowning deaths in children, but there is still a long way to go. Here is a breakdown of the findings.

​We are saddened to share the RLSS Australia’s findings that there has been a 10% increase in drowning deaths compared to last year. Overall, there were 276 drowning deaths in Australia between 1st July 2018 and 30th June 2019; a figure that is 276 drowning deaths too many. Not only did 276 people lose their lives to drowning, RLSS Australia estimates that a further 584 people experienced a non-fatal drowning incident.

According to the latest report, there was a 30% reduction in drowning of children aged 0-4, compared to the 10-year average. However, with children, those aged under 5 years of age are still at the highest risk of drowning. For this age group, home pools are the main location of drowning deaths. Many factors were identified as contributing to these statistics, however one reason stands out - falls into water. This statistic highlights the necessity of active supervision.

Alarmingly, adults accounted for the most drowning deaths in the 2018 - 2019 period, with more than 85% of drowning deaths occurring in people aged 18 and older. Some of the risk factors identified in drowning deaths for adults include pre-existing medical conditions, alcohol use and drug use - overwhelmingly from legal medications.

Royal Life Saving Society Australia also reported that the warmer weather sees more drowning deaths than any other time of year. The 3 months of Summer alone saw almost half (45%) of all drowning deaths. Last year’s Summer was the hottest on record, leading to a 17% increase in Summer drowning deaths compared to the 10-year average.

As we continue towards these summer months, we urge parents and carers to remember that although swimming lessons are an important aspect of safer swimming, swimming lessons alone do not prevent drowning. Active supervision is the best form of ensuring a safer environment for your children to play, learn and grow.

We also urge our customers to consider the risks to themselves, friends and family around bodies of water. This report is a stark reminder that drowning can affect everybody, regardless of age.

Author: Josephine Moss (Swim School Coordinator)