Vote now for Cairns’ best swimming teacher for 2024

We were inundated with hundreds of nominations in our quest to find the best swim teacher in Cairns. Vote for your favourite here.

C-Me Swim instructor Krista Tieppo (back) has been nominated by our readers as one of the city’s top teachers. Picture: File

One in 10 drownings deaths in Queensland were children under five years of age in 2022-23 with swim instructors across the state, including Far North Queensland, now in high demand.

It’s why we’re looking to crown Cairns’ top swim teacher.

We asked our readers to nominate their favourite teacher in Cairns, with hundreds of nominations, and narrowed it down to a shortlist of 51.

This is what they said:

“Krista M Tieppo from C-Me Swim … (is the) best swim school and an absolutely incredible teacher to my kids for the past five years,” Charli Wilton wrote.

“My kids love going to swimming lessons and have learnt so much from her every week. She really gets on a personal level with them all which is the main reason my kids are so happy and excited to attend.

Kate Kay said: “Miss Merryl from Marlin Coast. My son had her for two years and he came such a long way. He just adored her, she has a gift for making energetic three year olds listen and sit still.”

Maryann McGuinness said: “Katie Cox at Cairns Learn to Swim! So so passionate about teaching and goes absolutely above and beyond for every student she teaches!”

Keeta Brown said: “Miss Lisa from Swim Skills. Or any teacher from Swim Skills. They’re all amazing teachers there. So friendly and approachable. My kids absolutely love swimming there.”

Vote for your favourite below.

The winner will be announced next week.

According to the National Drowning Report 2023, 70 per cent of all drowning deaths in Queensland were males (43 deaths); 20 per cent were adults aged 45-24 (12 deaths); and 10 per cent were children under five years of age (six deaths).

The top three locations included river, creeks or oceans.

Almost 40 per cent of drowning deaths occurred while swimming and recreating, while 16 per cent occurred while boating.

Originally published as Vote now for Cairns’ best swimming teacher for 2024