Parents urged to teach their children to swim

New Zealand parents urged to teach their children to swim.

Some of New Zealand’s biggest names have called on parents to do all they can to make sure their children can survive in the water.

Prime Minister John Key, Warrior’s captain Steve Price, The Warehouse Founder, Stephen Tindall  and TV presenter Lana Coc-Kroft all made the appeal at  the launch of the Flippa Ball National Water Competency Programme at the weekend.

The mission of the programme is to get more kids into pools, playing Flippa Ball and learning to be more water competent. It’s hoped this will help address New Zealand’s  drowning statistics which are twice that of Australia’s.

This year so far 19 people have drowned and there are predictions that the drowning toll will rise as the number of children who can swim drops.

Prime Minister John Key said "New Zealand children grow up surrounded by water. Summers in the pool, lake and sea are what make childhood memories magical. However it is essential that our kids learn all the skills they need to survive in this environment.

Mr Key said "It is a tragedy that 50% of Year 6 children cannot swim even 50 metres, and initiatives like Flippa Ball, where kids can learn valuable water skills and have heaps of fun at the same time must be encouraged."  

The programme’s been devised by New Zealand Water Polo and  will be delivered through Flippa Ball, the junior water polo game for primary school aged children. Because children don’t have to swim to play Flippa Ball the game is accessible to all levels of ability. 

New Zealand Water Polo CEO Nick Cowan says Flippa Ball is an ideal way to encourage child water competency.  He says “It’s a simple equation.  Take water, add children and a ball and you have a fun game kids love.  Children want to play and without even realising it they learn how to better survive in the water.”

Nick Cowan says the growth of Flippa Ball has been phenomenal since it began 6 years ago with nearly 14,000 children playing currently and up to 20,000 expected to be in the game by the end of the year.

The growth of the game has come as a pleasant surprise to one of its founders, entrepreneur Stephen Tindall.  The Warehouse Founder helped fund and promote the game as a way of preparing younger children to play Water Polo, a sport he’s passionate about.  But he says it’s potential to not only get kids active but to help them survive in the water has overtaken its original rationale. 

Stephen Tindall said  “Flippa Ball has the potential to really make a difference.  We need to get kids into the pool and wanting to learn to swim so that they can get those vital survival skills.  If we don’t get them while they’re at school the chance is they won’t learn to swim and our drowning toll will just continue to rise”.

The multi-millionaire told parents and children at the launch that gaining confidence in swimming as a young boy had set him on the path to better confidence in life and the successes he went on to achieve.    

Warriors Captain, Steve Price said it was vital children learnt water skills in a country surrounded by water.  He called on parents to get children into Flippa Ball so they can be encouraged  to better swimming.   His own children play Flippa Ball and he’s been impressed by what they’ve gained.

Television presenter Lana Coc-Kroft also has children who are enthusiastic about Flippa Ball and she says the programme is vital as it offers children of all swimming abilities the chance to get involved and learn.

She says “I’ve witnessed children who lacked water confidence get into Flippa Ball and then seen their swimming abilities rocket.  The key is they’re having fun and the game encourages them to become better swimmers”.

The specially designed Water Competency Programme will be introduced to all Flippa Ball teams this year.  It delivers 10 essential water competency disciplines to children over a 10 week term. 

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