Mum when I grow up I want to swim for Australia!

16 August 2016

So your little fish has been swept up in the swell of Olympic fever. 

Has the thrill of the race, roar of the crowd; excitement of the swimmers battling out in the pool and international glory filled your minnow's head with dreams of becoming part of the Australian swim team and winning medals?

Does your bathroom need a respite from being splashed from floor to ceiling, wall to wall, as each home stretch of every Olympic race has been relived at bath time?

Two weeks of having swimming in the world spotlight has no doubt inspired thousands of young boys and girls to want to take to the water to chase their Olympic greatest.

Every Olympic swimmer started at an early age. Before every Olympic swimmer could swim the 400m they had to learn to swim just one.

Even Australian Mackenzie 'Mack' Horton, who won the first gold medal of the Rio Olympics, started swimming lessons as a 10 year old because he was afraid of the water! Then overcoming his fear three years later he broke his first Australian swimming record at 13 years old.

And Australian Gold medalist Madi Wilson has perhaps the most unusual phobia of any Olympic swimmer - she is afraid of jumping into the water.

So in the spirit of the Games, we encourage you to dive quickly off the blocks and enrol your Australian dolphin into the 2017 Vacswim program as the first step towards becoming an Olympic champion.

This summer give your junior super fish a kick-start towards dreams of swimming for Australia.

It doesn't matter what level of swimming your child is up to, or even if your child has never even done a class, or even been swimming before - SA Water VACSWIM has a stage for everyone, including beginners. Even budding Olympians!

So what is Vacswim?

SA Water VACSWIM is a Government of South Australia initiative that aims to provide opportunities for children to learn about water safety. 

There are three water safety programs within VACSWIM; Swim and Survive is a Royal Life Saving Society program and takes place in swimming pools, Surf and Survive is a Surf Life Saving South Australia program and takes place on beaches, Swimming & Water Safety Course is the YMCA program and takes place in YMCA swimming pools.

When does VACSWIM take place?

The majority of programs take place from Tuesday 3rd to Wednesday 11th January , for specific location details, check the locations page.

What age can children do VACSWIM?

If you want to do VACSWIM on a beach, your child must be 5 years old by the start of the program.  If you want to do it in a pool your child must be 5 years old on or before 30th April 2016.

How do you find out if there is a VACSWIM location near you?

There are over 130 locations that will be providing SA Water VACSWIM programs.  To discover which beaches and pools are involved, simply click here.

How do you book a VACSWIM program?

Most locations operate online bookings. Enrolments are open. Click here to enrol.