Local kids are jumping back into the pools now lockdown has lifted and are swimming their way through winter, with Jump Swim Schools experiencing its highest winter enrolment numbers on record.
At Jump locations including Berwick, Cranbourne West, Lynbrook, Pakenham and Pakenham Lakes kids are still jumping into the pool despite the plummeting temperatures to ensure they keep up their life-saving swim skills year-round and get back up to speed after two weeks of pool closures.
Swimming through the winter months is the most important thing you can do to prepare a child for the summer months of beach and pool visits and to ensure their skills remain at a level where they could save their own life if the unthinkable accident was to occur, even during winter said Jump Swim Schools CEO Mark Collins.
“Water accidents don’t always happen in summer. According to the most recent Royal Life Saving National Drowning Report, drownings in February were actually the same as the number in July,” he said.
“The report also shows that 19 per cent of drowning deaths happen in winter.
“It only takes two to three weeks to start losing core swimming skills. If children take the winter months off, by the time they go on September school holidays, they’ve lost most of their skills which puts them
at serious risk.”
Mr Collins said children who continued swimming through winter could advance up to two levels by the time the warm season rolled around again.
“Summer swimmers are made in winter,” he said.
“Lockdowns have definitely interrupted lessons and swimming progress in Victoria, so it’s more important than ever to get back to the pool.”
To make winter swimming a little easier, a little preparation goes a long way:
– Find an indoor pool that’s heated or get little kids into wetsuits to help them maintain their body temperature.
– Bathrobes work wonders for getting from the pool to the car at the start and the end of the lesson – then straight into a warm shower at home.
– A warm drink like milo in a thermos is a nice treat for the end of the lesson.
