Postal Swim 2011

Swim as far as you can in one hour! Individual and Team events

Entry fees: Individual $50    Team $45

All squad swimmers / adults & parents in ESL Swimming Programme are invited to participate in the Postal Swim

Please click here to download Information sheets and entry details.

Protect Your Investment…

Generally when people think about investments…they think of ways to protect it; keep it safe, and look for opportunities where it can grow and provide the best possible return. For our young, developing swimmers…there is a lot that can be learnt from our friends in the financial world!

A financial adviser once said when investing money, you need to “build then protect.” Over the course of the term, your child has been building a set of skills in the water. Gradually improving and learning how to swim better.

Now it is time to protect that investment!

Q: How do you do that?
A: By continuing their involvement ensuring they remember the skills learnt previously and continue to progress.

During the winter months, many families take a break from swimming lessons because “it is too cold” to swim. Sadly, this popular misconception hurts your child in a number of different ways.

Skill Development: Studies have shown that children have difficulty retaining knowledge over a 3-month period especially if that knowledge is not being reinforced during that time frame. Studies have also shown that children have more difficulty in retaining knowledge if they have low self-confidence in the activity. BOTH of these factors come into play when you “take a break” from swimming. This ‘break’ can take a child out of the water for over 4 months, and as water is not a natural environment for humans to be in, most children will have a lower level of self-confidence when they return.

‘My child will get sick’: This is probably the most popular misconception in swimming. Parents fear that their child will get sick or catch cold because of the colder temperatures and the water. Numerous studies have shown that this is NOT the case. Colds and flu are caused by viruses, not cold weather.

Swimming is one of the most widely encouraged activities for people suffering from asthma. The chlorine and rhythmic breathing in swimming helps clear the sinuses and opens the lungs. Additionally, the water temperature in our indoor pools is heated to around 28-30 degrees. Exercise is universally acknowledged to boost the bodies immune system making it stronger and more efficient at fighting off illness, therefore making active people less likely to get sick…not more likely.

Mental/Physical Development: The longer the break between training sessions, the more likely a child will forget the movements and the “feel” of the water. When a child comes back to swimming after taking a term off, they need to spend weeks re-learning skills that they have forgotten. Parents and swimmers both struggle to understand why they are not seeing improvement over the year, when generally this is because a large portion of that time is spent relearning skills. The end result is parents and children become frustrated with not “moving up” to the next level.

In order to protect your investment…reconsider “taking a break” and let your child continue to enjoy the aquatic environment over the winter! Swimming is an important life skill and your child’s development is worth protecting!

“Awareness makes us better prepared to handle any situation”

News Archive

• Introducing….Randy Simon, ESF Squad Coach Swimming (dated 31 May 2010)
• Development of Competitive Swimming in the ESF Programme (dated 31 May 2010)
• ESF Educational Services is commencing their Sharks Learn to Swim Programme at Discovery College from January 2009. Click here for brochure and application form (dated 2 December 2008)
• Benefits of Swimming (dated 21 August 2008)
• Squad Swimmer interview (dated 21 August 2008)
• Swimming News April 2008