Dear Parents,

The holidays are just around the corner, we hope you have a safe and fun-filled break!

Last lessons for the year will be on Sunday 20th December 2020 and we will re-open on Monday 4th January 2021.

During the break you will not be charged for any lessons, this break also includes all squad sessions.

Please remember that during the break you are welcome to bring the children for a free swim with a full paying adult, to ensure they continue to develop their skills.

BlueFit Swimming wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We look forward to seeing you back for another year of swimming in 2021.

There is fear that due to COVID-19, it may have created a generation of non-swimmers who will never learn how to be safe around the water, warn experts.

The peak of swimming lessons in Australia is September just before the beginning of the summer season, however, this year enrolments at swimming schools across Australia dropped 25 per cent compared with last year, according to a research analysis done at 125 swimming facilities by Royal Life Saving Society Australia.

Due to this drop in numbers, these children are unlikely to ever reach national benchmarks that recommend every 12-year-old Australian should be able to swim 50 metres, float for two minutes and know how to respond to an emergency, Royal Life Saving’s chief executive Justin Scarr said.

“If a seven-, eight- or nine-year-old child can’t yet swim 50 metres and tread water for two minutes, then they should be in swimming and water safety lessons,” he said. “Non-swimming children become non-swimming adults, and that is a ticking time bomb.”

The National Swimming and Water Safety Framework, including the benchmarks, can be found here.

Being in a country surrounded by water, children’s swimming lessons are a critical life skill to prevent drownings and to encourage a lifelong love and understanding of the water.

Royal Life Saving is urging parents to judge their children’s swimming abilities and if they can’t reach the National Swimming and Water Safety Benchmarks for their age, they should enrol them in lessons prior to summer.

Royal Life Saving Chief Executive, Justin Scarr notes “the fall in swimming lesson enrolments is so dramatic that Royal Life Saving is concerned that COVID-19 may create a generation of non-swimmers, who will never be safe around water. Parents should be reminded that learning to swim is not only a partial vaccine against drowning, it boosts a lifelong love of swimming for fun, health and fitness.”

If you or you know someone or your child that needs to enrol into swimming lessons please fill out the form here.

BlueFit Swimming is excited to offer Free Splash Time infant classes! These sensory-based classes are design for babies up to 4 months old as an introduction to the pool in a fun and nurturing environment.

The first session will be Wednesday of each month, there are limited spots available, to save your spot click here now.

Swimming is not only important for water safety but also helps your child’s development, improving coordination, balance and muscle development. Our Splash Time classes are a great way to bond with your little one while also meeting parents with babies a similar age.

For more information on Splash time please visit their website here.

The short answer is YES! The pool is safe to use if you’re cautious, the long answer is that the centre for disease control confirmed Chlorine is effective against a broad range of viruses and there is no evidence that COVID-19 can be spread to through the use of pools.

We pride ourselves on our water quality and continue to perform regular pool checks throughout the day. To ensure our facilities remain clean throughout the day we now have onsite hygiene heroes dedicated to keeping our facilities safe to use and all our facilities are professionally cleaned and sanitised each night.

It’s understandable to be concerned about a chemical that dries out skin and hair and that has a smell that can linger long after a shower. But for the most part, experts say, there’s no reason to worry. Chemicals like chlorine and bromine are added to swimming pools to fight germs.

The chlorine in the pool will likely inactivate the virus, so doing laps is less of a concern. Bigger issues lie around the use of shared change rooms where people are often touching the mouth, nose and face and then maybe touching the lockers, so please remember to keep washing your hands and use our on-site hand sanitisers.

If you’re feeling sick or unwell, please stay home, rest, and do not visit our centre.

With restrictions starting to ease BlueFit is excited to be able to open our doors to the community. To ensure the health and safety of staff and customers there are a number of measures now in place.

It’s been super exciting to have our swim school resume the last month! Now’s the perfect time to get your child into their swimming lessons to make sure they’re prepared before the weather begins to get warmer.

We have 5 awesome reasons to enrol in BlueFit Swimming!

1. Affordable Lessons:
   Family-friendly direct debit options are available. – we believe swimming should be an accessible activity for everyone, after all, everyone should be able to experience the joy of swimming.
2. Small classes sizes:
   We offer small class sizes during the learning phase and increase class sizes as skills develop and we focus on swimming endurance.
3. Make-up lessons available:
   We understand you can’t always be there every week, children get sick, you go on holidays! We have an easy make-up lesson management on your portal.
4. Free access to the pools outside of lessons:
   Students are able to access the pools outside of your lesson. This is a perfect opportunity to continue practising what has been taught during the lesson so your child can progress through our levels.
5. Clear progression from babies through to swim club and squad:
   Swimming is a lifelong passion and we will be here for when your child or yourself are blowing bubbles to meeting personal bests in lap swimming.

Swimming for 10, 20 or 30-plus minutes non-stop is good general exercise and will help you increase your speed and strength from a baseline level. However, without including some form drills and swim sets with rest in between intervals, you will plateau in speed and fitness in just a few weeks.

See below a freestyle swimming workout we have come up with for you to try on your next swim:

• 3 x 100m warm up with 10-20 second rest between. Goal: To get the blood flowing to your muscles and loosen up your joints.
• Rest 1 minute (stretch, relax)
• 6 x 50m holding a kickboard and focusing on your freestyle arm technique, with 20-30 second rest between. Goal: Working on improving your technique which is a critical step to becoming a faster swimmer.
• Rest 1 minute
• 6 x 100m of higher effort than steady swimming with between 10 to 30 seconds rest after each 100m. Goal: To increase your effort into the 80-90% of maximum range. If you are a newer swimmer, keep this closer to 80% and take more rest. Experienced swimmers swim closer to 90% and take less rest. This is roughly the fastest pace you might attempt to hold in a sprint.
• Rest 1 minute
• 1 x 100m of kicking on your front with torpedo arms.
• 1 x 100m of an easy stroke. Goal: Cooling down and stretching out.

Credit Team USA.

Swimming is a full-body workout and therefore it is important that your body is well nourished but not over-fed before you get in the pool. Food is important to provide a consistent supply of energy, however, sometimes in the morning before you leave or just after work/school, there isn’t enough time to cook an A-grade snack such as a smoothie.

Below is a list of easy snacks to make quickly or easy to organise the day before:

Fruit
Pack a banana, apple or mandarin in your bag or cut up some watermelon, cantaloupe or berries, put them in a container the night before and drizzle with some lemon juice to keep them riper for longer!

Museli Bars
These are too easy to pack away and the supermarket will offer you a range of flavours including, nuts, berries, yoghurt or fruit, anything to tickle your fancy.

Raisins or sultanas
You can buy these in bulk and pack a small amount in a container or buy these in small pocket-sized packets to carry. Easy and delicious!

Toast
Carbs are a fantastic type of food to eat before a swim. They can produce a lot of energy that can be burned off in your workout, plus toast takes roughly one minute to cook and a minute to apply your favourite spread.

Eggs
You’re probably thinking how are making eggs easy and quick? In the morning while you’re getting ready or having a shower just put an egg in a pot of boiling water for around 5 minutes, then take the boiled egg on your way. You can peel it when it’s cold before you swim.