00:00 For this swim class, learning to safely cross this Gold Coast creek, the reward is buried
00:07 treasure.
00:08 Whoa, what is that?
00:09 So we let the children know that we have to swim to the other side of the creek to get
00:14 the pirate treasure and the mermaid treasure.
00:17 Oh my goodness.
00:18 But for swim instructor Skye Bond, it's a serious life skill.
00:23 In a situation like a creek or going out with outgoing tide and stuff like that, would not
00:27 be able to save themselves.
00:29 She teaches kids as young as three years old how to handle natural waterways safely.
00:35 Not everyone goes, "Oh my kid can swim in a backyard pool."
00:38 Backyard pools are a lot different than these creeks.
00:40 Bec Pirahy's daughter is one of these students.
00:44 While caring for her other child, Bec's three-year-old fell off a small jetty.
00:49 I was very panicked.
00:52 I was equally trying to get the baby off me and get to Molly at the same time.
00:57 But the swimming lessons kicked in.
00:59 She kind of just managed to swim her way back to the jetty and grab onto the jetty so then
01:04 I could pull her back up.
01:07 I know how quickly that could have gone badly.
01:10 Skye Bond has been a lifesaver for 40 years.
01:14 She's seeing more and more kids failing basic swimming skills.
01:18 I was taken back on how many could not swim.
01:24 And they live on the Gold Coast.
01:25 A Swim Safer report released this week shows nearly half of families don't have their children
01:30 enrolled in swimming lessons because they think they're too young to learn.
01:35 While 38% think that swimming lessons are just too expensive.
01:40 That swimming is just another thing they've got to pay for.
01:45 But to me, swimming is like the number one.
01:48 There's no other sport that saves your life.
01:49 A lesson for children and adults alike.
01:52 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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