Darren Lange of Darren Lange Swimming Academy calls on Government to help finance private program lessons

A well-known swimming coach has backed calls for swimming lessons to be mandatory in all primary schools but says attention needs to be towards accessibility for all. Read what he had to say here.

A former Olympian and renowned swimming coach has called on the government to support private practice swimming lessons as costs of living pressures increase.

Darren Lange of the Darren Lange Swimming Academy said learning vital water safety and skills at an early age could save lives later on, as Australia records one of its deadliest drowning years in almost two decades.

A new campaign by The Chronicle and The Courier-Mail is pushing for swimming lessons to become mandatory in all primary schools, and while Mr Lange supported the notion, he said his business held frustrations with the schooling system.

“Learning to swim is a bit of a journey … it takes time to build up the skills,” he said.

“Ten to 15 years ago, we would see eight to 10 lessons a year at 45 minutes each within our school programs.

Siena Blythe, 8, Aria Blythe, 6, and Leen Alzawati, 9, learning to swim. Picture: Josie Hayden

“Now, we have schools only doing six 30-minute lessons … what can we really achieve in essentially three hours of teaching a year?”

Mr Lange said many parents and schools had the attitude of ticking off swimming lessons from their to-do lists without allocating enough time to successfully learn the skills.

Data obtained from Surf Life Saving Australia revealed 141 people drowned at Australian beaches during 2021/22.

Almost 340 Australians perished in the 12 months in floods, rivers, pools, dams and seas – 278 of those being men.

Former Olympians Cate Campbell and Darren Lange speak about water safety activities at Milne Bay pool in November 2018.

Mr Lange said after speaking with teachers and principals, there was a fear that trying to put too much in the school curriculum was allowing proper water safety training to slip between the cracks.

In order to safe guard the proper water safety teachings, Mr Lange said the government needed to enable all families to gain access to private program lessons.

“Even if parents were able to claim their lessons as tax deductions,” he said.

“We would welcome some sort of concession so that more families who may find the lessons out of their budget are still given access (to the programs).

“Swimming is part of our Aussie way of life, and we talk about it as an essential skill for life.

“It is expensive, I understand … but it’s about giving your children a skill for life that could one day save their life.”