Youngsters in the west are jumping back into the pool following the lifting of lockdown earlier this month.
JUMP! Swim schools Hoppers Crossing, Point Cook, Maidstone and Caroline Springs are experiencing their highest winter enrolment numbers on record.
At JUMP! Swim schools across the state, enrolment numbers are 28 per cent higher this winter when compared to winter 2019.
Despite plummeting temperatures, children are getting back to their swimming lessons after two weeks of pool closures during the most recent state lockdown.
JUMP! Swim Schools chief executive Mark Collins said that swimming through the winter months was the most important thing families could do to prepare a child for the summer beach and pool visits.
“According to the most recent Royal Life Saving National Drowning Report, drownings in February were actually the same as the number in July,” Mr Collins said.
“The report also shows that 19 per cent of drowning deaths happen in winter.”
Mr Collins said it usually only took children two to three weeks to start forgetting their core swimming skills.
“Lockdowns have definitely interrupted lessons and swimming progress in Victoria, so it’s more important than ever to get back to the pool,” he said.
“If children take the winter months off, by the time they go on September school holidays, they’ve lost most of their skills which puts them at serious risk.
“A child who continues swimming through the 12 or so weeks of winter could actually advance one to two levels during this time.”
