The Y, developing swimming teachers in regional South Australia

Access to swimming teacher training has long been a challenge for regional communities, where distance, travel costs, and minimum participant requirements often prevent courses from going ahead. YMCA South Australia is addressing this gap by building internal capability and investing in local workforce development across regional SA.

A key part of this work is led by Samantha Wise, YMCA SA’s Swimming Lessons Specialist. With more than 18 years of experience in the aquatic industry, Sam oversees swimming lesson programs across YMCA SA’s regional and metropolitan aquatic centres, supporting programming, quality delivery and staff development. After seeing the ongoing difficulty in training teachers in regional areas, Sam undertook further study to help remove these barriers.

By completing her Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, and qualifying as an AUSTSWIM Trainer and Presenter, Sam has enabled YMCA SA to deliver AUSTSWIM Teacher of Swimming and Water Safety courses in-house across regional centres. This has made it possible to run courses in remote locations without the need for large participant numbers or external presenters, making it easier to boost development of swim teachers that otherwise may not have had the opportunity.

Following her qualification, Sam delivered AUSTSWIM courses at Fleurieu Aquatic Centre and Port Lincoln Leisure Centre. Across both locations, 10 people completed the two-day course, with six participants at Fleurieu and four in Port Lincoln.

In addition to this, Swimming Lessons Director at the Port Lincoln Leisure Centre, Susan, has since completed the co-teaching component of the program and is now qualified to deliver the AUSTSWIM Teacher of Swimming and Water Safety course independently. Having an AUSTSWIM presenter based in Port Lincoln creates lasting training capability for the Eyre Peninsula and surrounding regions without the need for a trainer to travel from Adelaide.

By investing in people and building local training pathways, YMCA South Australia is helping grow the regional swimming workforce, reducing barriers to training, and supporting more children to access swimming lessons closer to their home.