Former Olympian and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Ruth Everuss attended Auburn Ruth Everuss Aquatic Centre to launch western Sydney’s newest swimming squad program.

The squad program is designed for swimming and water safety graduates to learn the skills and techniques required to take their swimming to a competitive level.

Area Manager, David Burns, says Ruth was the perfect person to launch the squad program and was honoured to have her attend.

“Swimming champions get their start from local swim squads, where home-grown talent is nurtured, supported and trained in preparation for the competitive world stage. Ruth shares a history with the centre right back to its opening day in 1959, so there is no one better to inspire Auburn’s future Olympians”, David said.

“We are excited for the future of the program with real potential to host state level swim meets. Our state of the art, Olympic sized pool is the perfect venue for competitive swimming and the grandstand can accommodate up to 1000 cheering spectators”, he said.

Ruth greeted staff and visitors and shared her experiences on how she helped to build the Auburn learn to swim and squad program to be one of the largest in the country.