Sponsorship saves learn to swim lessons from drying up

Volunteer coach Tracy Rolfe helping youngsters with water confidence at Papamoa Swimming Club's Learn to Swim programme. Photo/Stuart Whitaker

Papamoa Swimming Club is set to build on the success of its Learn to Swim programme.

Sponsorship from Pak'nSave Papamoa last summer subsidised the cost of the programme, and contributed to an increase in uptake from 70 to 120. That sponsorship will continue in 2015-16 and that's good news for the local community.

"They've been a sponsor for a couple of years, but last year cranked it up a bit," says club president Aaron Chatfield. "It's given us the ability to get a lot more of the community through, so it's been very successful."

Papamoa Primary School pupils are the only ones in the area to have access to a pool, so Aaron says the Learn to Swim lessons provide a valuable service for the wider Papamoa community.

"Kids (from the programme) tend to move into the swim squads - at the moment we have 11 of our swimmers who are in squads attending national meetings this season - or move on to other things. Plenty move on to surf lifesaving."

Aaron says that with the growth Papamoa is experiencing, there is likely to be more demand for the programme.

Over the winter, the pool has been repainted and squad training sessions, held at Baywave over winter, will begin on Monday.

"Squad swimming is important for kids. It teaches them an amazing amount of self discipline. It's a tough sport to be part of. Competitive swimming requires a lot of commitment and teaches them a lot about life," says Aaron.

During the summer the pool is available to the community at weekends with lifeguards on duty.