HOMETOWN Olympic hero Shayne Reese will share her passion and talent for swimming with the community, by establishing a swimming school in the region.Reese and her partner Luke Harper are launching the new swim school in Delacombe, with the project aiming to improve children’s confidence and abilities in the water.Shayne Reese Swimming is set to open at the beginning of term three, with assessments being taken during the July school holidays.Reese, who won gold at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, said she wanted to give back to the community which had given her so much during her development and competition at the highest levels. Based in Melbourne for the past nine years, the Olympic and world champion said yesterday the swim school provided the perfect opportunity to come home to Ballarat.“Luke and I started working at our coach’s swim school down in Melbourne and have been organising that, but I’ve always wanted to come back home so we came up with the idea for a swim school here.”The former medley and freestyle swimmer said learning to swim was one of the most important skills a child could achieve for recreation and personal safety.“I really think learning to swim should be made compulsory,” she said.“The survival side of things is incredibly important, but it’s also about fun and fitness too.”Reese competed in the 4 × 100m medley which won gold in Beijing.She won a gold medal at the 2005 World Swimming Championships and also competed at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.“Even when children are as young as six months, they can learn simple skills like rolling onto their back and finding their way to the wall,” she said. Reese, who was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2009, said the concept of the Ballarat swim school had existed for about two years, but delays meant it had to open in the middle of winter this year.“Our pool is 32 degrees and the air inside the building is a bit warmer than that.”The school will cater for babies and adults alike – also offering private lessons.“I’ve spoken to a lot of mums and they ay their kids really enjoy swimming,” she said. “You can keep fit, make friends and learn valuable skills at the same time.”City of Ballarat mayor Craig Fletcher said the new swim school was great news for the local community. “I was very excited to hear of the Shayne Reese swim school when she told me about the plans at a recent event. “Particularly because Shayne is such an outstanding athlete and ambassador for the Ballarat region,” Cr Fletcher said. He praised the project as an opportunity to help with juvenile fitness and swimming development. “Having spoken with her recently about it, I am very much aware of Shayne’s obvious passion for swimming and development of her school.”