News from Royal Life Saving Western Australia:
With support from Mitsui E&P Australia, Beach Energy and the Shire of Coorow, more than 40 kids from the Mid West got the chance to try out water safety activities and aquatic sports like pool lifesaving, water polo, and artistic swimming. After three days of activity, the event wrapped up on Saturday with a community aquatics day, where families and friends joined in to enjoy the water and try something new!
Diving into action
Pre-primary to Year 6 students from Coorow Primary School kicked things off on Thursday as they were taught essential water safety skills and tried out some artistic swimming moves, led by Bene from Artistic Swimming WA. Students practiced floating, gliding, kicking, and even attempted underwater backflips before putting together a short routine set to music.
On Friday morning, we welcomed 11 more students from Three Springs Primary, who built on their water safety knowledge with the Aqua Code and rescues. The artistic swimming session expanded on the skills taught the day before, with students confidently performing their routines by the end.
After wrapping up the school sessions, the Royal Life Saving WA team travelled to Eneabba to meet with pool manager Maddie and check out the facilities. With nearly all of the 27 children in town actively engaged in swimming lessons and Swim for Fruit, the school principal and Maddie were excited about the idea of incorporating artistic swimming, water polo, and lifesaving skills to their weekly swimming programs.
Community Have A Go Day
On Saturday, the fun continued as families and community members gathered at the Coorow Aquatic Centre for a Have A Go day! The event gave everyone a chance to dive into artistic swimming, water polo, and pool lifesaving with expert-led sessions with Bene from Artistic Swimming WA and Russell from Water Polo WA.
The enthusiasm was contagious and water polo quickly became a highlight of the day, with kids and parents teaming up for a lively mini-game. Everyone gave the new sports a go, fully embracing the experience and enjoying the friendly competition.
To round out the visit, the coaches ran a special training session for eight local sporting instructors and coordinators, combining theory and hands-on practice to help them introduce artistic swimming and water polo to their communities.
The start of something big
The Coorow Aquatics Day was a massive success! From kids trying artistic swimming for the first time to families bonding over a game of water polo, the event brought the community together in the best way possible — through fun, learning, and a shared love of the water.
Sadly, children in regional areas are 3.3 times more likely to drown than those in metropolitan areas and often miss out on essential swimming lessons and water safety education. Thanks to the support of our partners, events like these help raise awareness, encourage participation in aquatic activities, and gives local kids the chance to learn lifesaving Swim and Survive skills.
With such a fantastic response from students, parents, and local instructors, one thing is certain: this is just the beginning for aquatic sports in Coorow!
