Program aims to save lives!
Southsiders to get involved
BY KRISTY MUIR kristy.muir@news.com.au
KARINA Elcock wanted to ensure her son Axel the best chance of survival if he ever fell into their southside home pool. She enrolled him in swimming lessons at Andrew Baildon’s Superfish Swim School in Sunnybank when he was just three months old and 15 months later he continues to build on the life-saving skills. Mrs Elcock is encouraging other parents to make sure their children can swim. Her message coincides with a number of southside swim schools offering free swimming lessons for kids under five during the national awareness campaign Learn2Swim Week, which runs from October 2-9.
Swim schools can register to get involved in the community safety initiative to reduce drowning rates, before August 17.
“We wanted our son to learn to save himself if ever he would fall into the pool and to learn to swim as early as possible,” Mrs Elcock said. “It is very important to make sure our children learn about water safety."
Paul Attard from Poolwerx Mt Gravatt and Rochedale and Gary Hubner from Poolwerx Calamvale, the company behind Learn2Swim, say the aim was to introduce parents to the value of learning to swim by having swim schools offer free swimming lessons to children under five.
“Children aged zero to four years are at the highest risk for both fatal and nonfatal drownings and for every five children admitted to hospital following immersion, one will be left with potentially severe or persisting brain impairment,” Mr Attard said.
