Adult swimming lessons becoming harder to access despite rise in drownings

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Adults account for 80 per cent of drownings across the country but adult swimming lessons are difficult to find in regional South Australia.  Local pools are keen to provide lessons but there's a shortage of instructors willing to teach them.

Transcript

00:00Swimming is part of Australian culture, but a lack of adult swimming lessons has left

00:07some people on the sidelines.

00:08Even if I go to the swimming pool, I'm there like sitting on the side or just dangling

00:12my feet in the pool or anything like that, wishing I was the person in there having fun.

00:17But if I can't touch the bottom, I'm panicking.

00:21Riverland local Julianne Hancock has had a fear of water since she was young, but watching

00:25her grandkids swim has inspired her to learn.

00:28I did look around then for a little while, but there was just nothing.

00:33Julianne isn't alone in wanting to learn how to swim as an adult, but the industry is currently

00:38experiencing an instructor shortage amplified by COVID, meaning hosting swimming lessons

00:43here in regional SA is difficult to get off the ground.

00:47Royal Life Saving SA says adult drownings are on the rise, but there's a shortage of

00:51adult swimming lessons on offer.

00:53That gap and lack of adult programs, we're just seeing that increase more and more.

00:57Mount Gambier is one of the few places in the state's regions that has adult classes.

01:01The demand's quite high.

01:02We are a bit restricted on how many classes we can run.

01:05We have to have the right qualifications with the teachers.

01:08It's a pretty nerve-wracking thing to come to swimming lessons as an adult, so the more

01:12we can put this in for our community, the better they're going to be.

01:15Keeping people safe, one stroke at a time.

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