By Lesley Walsh
CHILDREN learning to swim at Bangor Aurora Aquatics and Leisure Centre are benefiting from improvements in how they acquire the essential life skill, with the collaboration of Swim Ireland.
The Bangor leisure facility recently launched the Swim Ireland Aquatics Academy which is committed to enhancing the quality of swimming lessons, increasing swim time for learners and streamlining drop-off and pick-up procedures for parents.
The new initiative also marks improvements to the pool layout, which has already led to faster progressions for swimmers and generated a lot of positive feedback from parents, staff and the swimmers themselves.
Simon Dickson, Aquatics Manager at the Aurora, said the increased availability and clear progression through levels have attracted more learners to the programme.
“We want as many local people as possible signed up for our academy and benefitting from the expert tuition provided by our teaching team, which includes my colleague Lezah McMullan, Swim Ireland’s Swimming Teacher of the Year 2024,” said Simon.
The Aquatics Academy has been developed by a team of aquatic educators, working at all levels in the Irish aquatic industry and Swim Ireland clubs.
Each level of the Aquatics Academy has been designed with specific learning outcomes, focused on essential aquatic skills and includes a teacher’s toolkit to provide fun and progressive lessons for participants.
Swim Ireland’s head of education and community, Aisling McKeever, said: “We are delighted to continue our relationship with Bangor Aurora in the delivery of the new programme as they have high qualified, enthusiastic, and experienced swimming teachers on hand to deliver the Aquatics Academy in a professional manner.
“We are confident that participants and parents will find the transition to the Aquatics Academy to be seamless and beneficial,” she added.
In partnership with Serco Leisure, Northern Community Leisure Trust manages Bangor Aurora and Bangor Sportsplex on behalf of Ards and North Down Council.
