Life Saving Victoria encourage people of all ages to learn to swim

Life Saving Victoria board member Kara Monaghan was at Gurri Wanyarra Wellbeing Centre in Bendigo on Tuesday to help share information about being water safe.

Having been involved in the aquatic field since 1998, the Belgravia Leisure regional manager is passionate about saving lives and getting people involved in the fun pastime.

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She urged parents to ensure they and their children have the water safety skills required to be safe as we enter the summer season.

"Particularly Victoria, off the back of COVID, so much of the industry was shut and so therefore nationally, there were about 10 million swimming lessons missed," she said.

"Rural Life Saving produces a national drowning report each year and the 2022 report, there was a 15 per cent increase in drownings Australia-wide compared to the year before, and a 24 per cent increase on the 10 year average.

"So we run what's called Go Swim so we have a weekly program for kids to do swimming lessons here, but not only that, we've got lessons for adults, for youth, for women, and also for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and we're also running lessons for schools."

Ms Monaghan said it is super important to learn to swim to be able to enjoy water everywhere, not just swimming pools, but also rivers, lakes and dam.

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"Access and inclusion lessons help to reduce barriers, so someone from a diverse cultural background that's an adult may not want to swim with kids but be in an adult program," she said.

"It's really important that people can feel comfortable coming to a lesson that specifically caters for them.

"Lots of drownings happen in open water, in waterways and rivers, so swimming lessons and making sure people are confident in all sorts of bodies of water is is incredibly important."

Ms Monaghan also encouraged parents and adults to always supervise children around water and to get rid of distractions like phones.

"If you're out and about at a playground or someone else's house, have really clear communication around who is supervising the kids," she said.

"And if you're out around waterways, it's basics.

"Don't drink alcohol and swim in the river, if you're on a boat, wear a lifejacket, swim with a buddy, don't go alone."

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