When Sally Pizzey and Molly Smith, swim teachers at the Monbulk Aquatic Centre, heard that there were limited swimming opportunities for the residents on the remote island of Lord Howe, they were determined to help in any way that they could.

“There is no swimming pool on the island, only a lagoon and a beach to learn to swim,” said Sally. Properly organised lessons were scarce due to the cost of transporting qualified instructors to the island.

The situation resonated with Sally as she was concerned about residents living on an island surrounded by water but not being able to swim.

The issue came to Sally and Molly’s attention when some students from Lord Howe Island attended the Monbulk Aquatic Centre.

“The students were quite a bit older than some of the others in that class and you could see that their swimming wasn’t very strong at all,” Molly explained.

Both swim teachers quickly agreed that something needed to be done, but they also realised that the trip was not going to be an easy one to undertake. It was going to cost them $6000 for both teachers to travel to the island, but this didn’t discourage them from making the journey.

They hope that their trip can raise awareness towards the need for greater access to swimming education in remote island locations such as Norfolk Island, Christmas Island and the Cocos Keeling Islands.