Parents playing swim safety catch-up after COVID-19 lockdowns

Mount Helen parent Hayley said she was unable to get her child into lessons.

"We are on two wait lists because all the after school programs are full," she said.

To get her younger child into lessons Hayley needed to pay for a more expensive class, which she only just got into after being put on a shortlist.

"I am really surprised," Hayley said.

"Our family members in Geelong have so much more choice and availability."

This summer, like most states in Australia, drownings in Victoria increased.

Royal Life Saving Australia reported, from December 1, 2023 to February 29, 2024, 22 people drowned in Victoria, an increase of 25 per cent from the previous summer.

The Royal Life Saving Society reported 10 million missed swimming lessons over the COVID-19 lockdown period in Victoria.

Royal Children's Hospital paediatric intensive care nurse Sarah Duncanson, also a former swimming teacher, said there had been a decline in drownings in the 0-4 age bracket in the past decade, mostly due to advocating the importance of swimming lessons from a young age.

"There wasn't a spike post-COVID in drownings in ages zero to four, which is where we tend to at for accidents and injuries, but zero to four years is the highest age group in childhood for drownings," she said.

"There is still a lot of work to be done in this area."

Ms Duncanson said parents have said to get they haven't been able to get back into their post COVID-19 routines.

"It's hugely expensive - parent's are looking at an average of $20 to $30 a lesson per child," she said.

"There is also a lack of teachers. There are children on waitlists to get into swimming lessons.

"It especially impacts regional and rural areas where they [aquatic centres] do not have the capacity to cope with the number of children who need lessons."

According to Victoria Government's Better Health department, drowning is one of the leading causes of unintentional injury death for children under five years of age.

The Life Saving Victoria drowning report for 2022-2023 reported 59 fatal drownings, up six from the previous year.

There were also 122 non-fatal drownings.

Most drownings happened while swimming, paddling or wading while supervised at public or private swimming pools.

Hospitalisation for children between 0-4 years old for non-fatal drownings increased.

Reflecting the barriers faced in regional areas, the report also found regional residents were 1.5 times more likely to drown than metropolitan residents.

Ms Duncanson said access to swimming and water safety education was paramount.

"When it comes to regional and rural areas, there's a lot of unsafe areas where kids are swimming, that's very different from a swimming pool environment," she said.

Ms Duncanson said swimming teachers were often paid poorly and seen as a casual workforce, making it less appealing as a career choice.

Struggling to get your child into lessons? Email alison.foletta@austcommunitymedia.com.au

Ms Duncanson encouraged parents to introduce children to water from a young age and have swimming lessons.

"Having early lessons helps children be confident and not being scared of water sources," she said.

Ballarat Aquatic and Leisure Centre, BALC, has swimming lessons provided with membership which can vary from $14.80 to $17 a week for school aged children which include a lesson a week.

Private lessons are also available through the pool's swim school team.

BALC was closed several times during lockdown period between March 2020 to September 2021.

The longest stretches were March 16 to June 2 2020, August 3 to November 9 2020 and August 21, 2021 to September 25 2021 - the rest were up to 10 days.

Lockdown years saw a reduction in pool attendances for BALC - there were 187,124 visits in 2020-2021 financial year, increasing to 405,783 in 2021-22 and then up to 629,189 in 2022-23.

City of Ballarat Community Wellbeing director Matthew Wilson in the years following COVID-19 closures, attendance figures across City of Ballarat's pool facilities have continued to increase steadily.

"We are proud to see more people actively engaging in our facilities," he said.

"In addition to increased visitation, BALC has also seen a 43 per cent increase in the number of people partaking in swimming lessons since pre-COVID 2020, with more than 1700 people being involved in lessons each week."

VicSwim offers an affordable short summer program in January - these are run at the council's outdoor pools - Eureka Pool, Buningyong Pool, Black Hill Pool and Brown Hill Pool prior to its closure in 2023.

VicSwim attendance and rates in Ballarat local government areas have varied from 2017-2024.

VicSwim chief executive officer Kathy Barton said it was about playing "catch-up" to COVID-19 lockdowns.

"Many swim schools across aquatic centre and recreation facilities across Victoria have waitlists they've been trying to work through," she said.

Ms Barton said a lot of parents who signed up for the VicSwim program said these were their only swimming lessons for the year due to cost of living pressures.

"People aren't able to afford swimming lessons so that means not as many children are learning water safety, education and learning how to swim as there previously were," she said.

Ms Barton said the biggest concern was the increase in drownings in Victoria in the past couple of years.

"I don't see that changing unless there are more children and adults learning confidence in water," she said.

"Swimming is a life skills every Australian should have."

In the Ballarat area in 2023, there were four drownings and emergency water incidents, down from 12 in 2022.

Ambulance Victoria Grampians regional clinical operations director Peter Jenkins said everyone needed to take extra care to avoid drownings.

"Everyone has a responsibility to do their part to keep themselves and others safe," he said.