Council Tackles Alarming Swim Statistics Head-on

A joint partnership between New Plymouth District Council and a local member of the petroleum industry, AWE, aims to reverse an alarming lack of water safety skills among schoolchildren.

On Thursday (25 March) a new programme from the Council and AWE (which is the operator and major equity holder of the offshore Tui Oil Field with its joint venture partners NZOG, Mitsui E&P Australia and Pan Pacific Petroleum) will offer water safety tuition to all year six students in New Plymouth District.

“We couldn’t run this programme without the generous funding partnership from AWE,” says Manager Aquatic Recreation Operations Mike Roberts.

“They’ve come on board so that we can offer five sessions to each year six student to give them a good knowledge of water safety and survival skills.

“There’s an urgent need for this type of all-encompassing water safety skills programme. Only 25 per cent of year six students in New Zealand are able to tread water or swim 25m, more school pools are closing every year, and New Plymouth District has many rivers and lakes and a long coastline.

“If we’re to make a serious effort in keeping our children safe, we have to give them the skills they need to survive in water.”

A recent Water Safety New Zealand survey showed that the water skills of New Zealand children are declining due to a lack of access to facilities, a lack of qualified teachers and cost restraints.

Water Safety New Zealand anticipates that unless urgent action is taken to reverse the downward trend in children’s swimming abilities, the drowning rate will increase to a level not seen for decades.

Says AWE COO/General Manager New Zealand Dennis Washer: “We work in an industry where identifying and mitigating risks to health and safety are part of our daily routine.

“It’s important to us that we can help improve the health and safety of the district’s children through something as simple as improving their water safety skills.”

The programme will see New Zealand surf life saving captain Glenn Anderson and the Council’s aquatic team encouraging as many children as possible to strive towards a goal of swimming 200m continuously by the age of 12.

Students from Welbourn and Central schools in New Plymouth will be the first to complete the programme, with students from about 40 schools around the district being offered the chance to take part over the coming year.

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