One of the largest national water safety initiatives of its kind has now wrapped up following TV personality and lifeguard Bruce ‘Hoppo’ Hopkin’s completion of the final leg of his national Float to Survive with GOswim tour.
Following the hugely successful and award-winning inaugural Float to Survive with GOswim campaign last summer, the initiative returned this December to spread the message on how to stay afloat in emergency aquatic situations, starting with 60,000 GOswim students across Australia.
The initiative was in response to alarming data from Royal Life Saving Australia and Surf Life Saving Australia, which shows Australia has recorded its highest number of drowning deaths since national records began.
Hoppo began his tour in Queensland and was welcomed by staff, students, guests and fans alike at Burpengary Regional Aquatic and Leisure Centre and Lawnton Aquatic Centre.
Next up was Victoria, where much to the delight of locals, Hoppo made appearances at Gurri Wanyarra Wellbeing Centre in Bendigo, followed by Ascot Vale Leisure Centre.
Gunyama Park Aquatic and Recreation Centre in Zetland, New South Wales, then hosted Hoppo during its annual open day, where he shared his critical five-step Float to Survive strategy.
Lastly, Hoppo spent the weekend in the nation’s capital, visiting four Canberra venues including Gungahlin Leisure Centre, Dickson Leisure Centre, Lakeside Leisure Centre and Stromlo Leisure Centre.
Sarah Podesta, Aquatics Manager at Belgravia Leisure says the campaign’s message was warmly welcomed across the country.
“It was important that we worked with Hoppo to take this message on the road to engage directly with communities and reinforce the importance of floating as a survival skill,” Sarah said.
“While it’s disheartening to see drowning statistics heading in the wrong direction, it gives us all a lot of comfort that this campaign has reached so many people, giving them the knowledge and skills that might one day save their life in an aquatic emergency.
“We are also very aware that a big responsibility to spread this message lies with our thousands of swim teachers across the country, so it was great that they got so involved.
“I’m proud that Float to Survive with GOswim is diving into this challenge to help the next generation be better prepared for aquatic emergencies, and I can’t wait to share further news on just how much of an impact this campaign has had,” Sarah concluded.
The campaign also integrated practical training into GOswim lessons nationwide. For the first two weeks of December, more than 250,000 GOswim lessons across nearly 80 locations began with five minutes of float training, based on Hoppo’s five-step Float to Survive strategy:
- Keep your head and mouth above water
- Control your breathing
- Spread your arms and legs for balance
- Use a circular motion to maintain buoyancy
- Signal for help
Hoppo expressed an urgency in spreading the Float to Survive message as far and wide as possible.
“Even those who are great swimmers can get into tricky aquatic situations such as a rip in the ocean or a strong current in a river. If they don’t have the skills and knowledge to be able to float their way out of trouble, the risk of panic setting in and drowning certainly increases.
“We are on a mission to spread this really simple message to as many Aussies as possible, and to partner with GOswim to help elevate this message to 60,000 students this summer will certainly go a long way in helping us to achieve this goal.”
The Float to Survive with GOswim campaign was recently recognised by the Australian Swim Schools Association (ASSA), winning Gold for Marketing and Communications in Victoria and earning national commendation for boosting children’s water safety knowledge and confidence in open water by 20 per cent. The success of this campaign highlights the importance of collaboration in improving water safety and saving lives.
GOswim is one of Australia’s leading swimming programs, delivering more than 2.8 million lessons annually to over 62,500 members. Visit the website here.
- Explore Belgravia Leisure’s career opportunities.
- Learn more about Belgravia Leisure’s people.
