The City of Greater Geelong is offering free swimming lessons following research from the Royal Life Saving Australia (RLSA) , which found a decline in young children's swimming skills.
The research found that nearly half of Year Six students were unable to swim 50 metres or tread water for two minutes.
The RLSA attributes a lack of swimming skills to an increase in drowning, which saw 104 people lose their lives over the past summer, up 14 per cent on the five-year average.
To make lessons more accessible to the community, the City is offering anyone who enrols in Webstar's Swim School between Monday 14 April and Sunday 4 May 2025 two free swimming lessons.
Operated by the City of Greater Geelong, Webstar's Swim School offers 30-minute sessions with qualified instructors who teach students about life-saving water safety and survival skills.
Greater Geelong Mayor Stretch Kontelj OAM
Our beautiful city is home to spectacular coastline and other major waterways, but that brings water safety risks.
It's so important that we all play our part to teach young people water safety, and I'm proud of the work our City's swim instructors do every day.
Councillor Eddy Kontelj
Webstar's Swim School has many members who are getting the benefits of regular lessons, but the Royal Life Saving Australia report is clear - we need to get water safety education out there even more.
That's why I'm proud that the City is offering two free lessons to new members - to parents, I say, if you've been putting off teaching your children to swim, now is the time.
To take advantage of the offer, parents can enrol their children at Leisurelink , Bellarine Aquatic & Sports Centre , Norlane ARC or Splashdown , or online .
