Aussie schools ditch swimming carnivals due to low skills

A survey by Royal Life Saving Australia (RLSA) has found one in four schools are no longer running swimming carnivals.

RLSA collected data from around 330 school staff at public and private primary and high schools across the country.

It found a third do not offer any swimming lessons.

RLSA said an overall decline in swimming skills puts “thousands at increased risk of drowning in early adulthood.”

Carnivals

While 76% of schools surveyed held swimming carnivals, student participation rates sat at 59%.

Schools that did not run a swimming carnival largely cited low student skill levels, and the cost of hiring a venue, as deterrents.

Other factors included staff availability and “lack of student interest”.

Benchmarks

The RLSA and other life-saving organisations have outlined a national framework for key swimming benchmarks for children aged 6 to 17.

Under the framework, by the end of primary school, students should be able to swim 50 metres continuously and tread water for at least two minutes.

Survey respondents told the RLSA that 48% of Year 6 students are unable to meet these targets.

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The report found there was no improvement in swimming skills among high school students.

By age 17, students are expected to swim at least 400 metres continuously and tread water for five minutes. However, 84% fell short of this standard.

Teachers reported that 39% of Year 10 students still couldn’t meet the swimming benchmark set for primary school students.

Participation

A majority of schools reported their schools still provided swimming lessons, with half of primary schools offering a “learn to swim program,” while 17% of high schools did.

However, RLSA data shows that a third of children stop attending swimming lessons before the age of nine.

One in ten children aged 5-14 years have never attended swimming lessons.

Concerns

The new data follows a recent RLSA report which found a 5% increase in drowning deaths over the past summer compared to the previous year.

CEO Dr Justin Scarr described the summer as “terribly tragic in so many ways”.

“It’s alarming to see so many missing out. We risk creating a generation with extremely poor swimming skills,” Dr Scarr said.