Olympic swimmer Alicia Coutts began swimming lessons because her mother feared she would drown.
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Drawn to the shiny water of their neighbour's pool, 18-month-old Coutts climbed a fence so she could get to the water. Luckily the neighbour was home, ''otherwise I could have been another story of a toddler drowning in a backyard pool'', Coutts said on Thursday at the launch of the ACT Primary Schools' Swim and Survive program at the Canberra International Sports and Aquatic Centre, Belconnen.
''My mother nearly drowned when she was a child and I saved a friend's little brother when I was a teenager. I know what can happen to kids in water,'' she said.
''Learning to swim is imperative, especially in Australia where there are pools, lakes, rivers and beaches everywhere.
''Kids need to have the skills to be able to save themselves. They don't have to be an Olympic champion, just able to get out of the water.''
The Swim and Survive program is run by the Royal Life Saving Society ACT. The program is supported by the ACT Education and Training Directorate and the Canberra Labor Club.
This year 9000 students from about 50 primary schools across the ACT will participate in the program.
Coutts, who has won six medals at two Olympic Games, is involved with the program through the Canberra Labor Club, where she worked part-time while training with the AIS.
Support from the club has been essential to the program. It has meant Royal Life Saving ACT has been able to provide a number of fully paid Swim and Survive scholarship positions to children and families in need of financial support.
Cherry O'Connor, executive director for Royal Life Saving in the ACT said, ''We have worked with the Canberra Labor Club to ensure there is access to Swim and Survive lessons through our scholarships and by establishing Swim 4 Life, an intensive program offered during school holidays.''
Ms O'Connor says there are too many children leaving school with poor swimming skills and it is vital every child has strong skills.
Peter Castle, director of Royal Life Saving in the ACT, said: ''The recently released National Drowning Report shows a decrease in drownings for school-aged children. Our clear aim is to keep that trend, and that means increasing participation in our vital programs.''
