Pahīatua Swim Club needs help to stay afloat

Learning to swim is considered a Kiwi rite of passage.

Pahīatua Amateur Swimming Club is in limbo over whether it will be running its learn-to-swim programme in January due to the town pool dilemma.

Club president Katrina Wilson says, “Over the years the committee has done a great job teaching youngsters to swim or at least getting them to be confident in the water – who knows how many lives they have saved?”

It has been offered the heated Ballance School pool for the learn-to-swim, but the committee is unsure whether parents would drive that far.

The club needs to know if parents will commit to taking their children to Ballance for eight 15-minute sessions from January 22-29 inclusive, from 5pm-7pm.

The committee would also like volunteers to train and teach these children. Katrina says the club has a very small group of volunteers who run the learn-to-swim programme and, “although they do a wonderful job, they do become burnt out by the end of the sessions”.

Pahīatua Amateur Swimming Club is unsure if it will be turning out any budding champions like these this summer, with its learn to swim programme in doubt.

“With the departure of the Year 13 students who helped teach beginners last year, there is a need for new volunteers to come and train two evenings in January before the sessions start. If you are Year 9 or above, and would be interested in becoming a coach, please get in touch.”

The committee also needs help to run Swim Club in the Tararua College pool on Tuesday and Thursday from 4pm-6pm.

Katrina says the swim club would love to have more volunteers to cover sessions and even learn to be lifesavers. “It is a skill never lost and a gift to anyone out of their depth in water.

“It is very hard to get more people to help to spread the workload these days with a lot of couples both working full time so even if becoming a lifesaver does not appeal you might have secretarial or organisational skills that will make a huge difference.”

Katrina can be contacted on 021 706 270.

Dave Murdoch is a part-time photo-journalist working for the Bush Telegraph and based at Dannevirke. He has covered any community story telling good news about the district for the last 10 years.