Blacktown City Council launches FREE adult swimming program.

Published on 13 January 2021

Blacktown City residents will have the opportunity to develop important water safety skills with Blacktown City Council launching the Swim Sense program.

The FREE water confidence program is targeted at adults and will run at Council’s 5 leisure and aquatic centres from Monday 18 to Thursday 21 January 2021 and will include both wet and dry sessions covering water safety and learning to swim.

Blacktown City Mayor Tony Bleasdale OAM said; “Learning to swim and being safe and confident in the water is a very important life skill.

“Those enrolled in the swim program will learn about pool safety, beach safety and learning to swim.

“These skills are fundamental in being confident in and around the water, whether at the local pool, the beach, rivers or lakes,” Mayor Bleasdale said.

The Swim Sense program has previously been run at the leisure and aquatic centres and was aimed at children.

However, statistics in the National Drowning Report by Royal Life Saving Society Australia, show 89% of drownings that occurred from July 2019 to June 2020 were adults aged 18 and over.

“This is a very alarming statistic! It’s very important that people of all ages and backgrounds  learn to be safe and confident swimmers so we can work towards reducing the number of drownings” Mayor Bleasdale added.

“Blacktown City Council is committed to providing the community with important resources and knowledge through outstanding programs such as Swim Sense. The safety and well-being of our community is our number one priority.”

The program will run at various times across the leisure and aquatic centres and anyone interested is encouraged to contact their preferred venue. Places are limited and bookings are essential.

For further information on the Swim Sense program please visit: www.aqualearntoswim.com.au