Original Story: Royal Life Saving Western Australia

Eight Aboriginal Youth from the Ellenbrook Secondary College Clontarf Academy recently visited Royal Life Saving WA as part of their Extended Bronze Medallion program. This course is provided as part of our Swim and Survive Access and Equity program, and aims to provide participants, who may not normally have the background swimming skills needed to complete a regular Bronze Medallion course, with the opportunity to learn these skills over a period of several weeks, before taking on their Bronze assessment.

Clontarf academies are an initiative of the Clontarf Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation that aims to improve the education, life skills, self-esteem and employment prospects of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men. Each academy is integrated into its host school and is staffed by full-time mentors. The academy program builds on boys’ enthusiasm for sport to encourage them to achieve academically.

The Extended Bronze Medallion course these boys have participated in is part of Royal Life Saving WA’s strategy to address the fact that Aboriginal Australians are twice as likely to drown as non-Aboriginal Australians. By providing additional opportunities for Aboriginal youth to learn these vital swimming and lifesaving skills we can ensure that they are confident to safely participate in water activities.

As part of their recent visit to Royal Life Saving WA these Ellenbrook students completed their theory component of the Extended Bronze program in our training rooms, and then as a reward they were given the opportunity to use the diving boards at HBF Stadium for over an hour, something they had never done before! The young people were assisted by two coaches from Diving WA, and also had the opportunity to meet the CEO who made this possible free of charge.

Following their diving session the boys enjoyed a Subway lunch before visiting the WA Institute of Sport (WAIS) for a tour of their facilities. While at WAIS the boys had the opportunity to see and test some of the equipment used by our top athletes, and were also lucky enough to meet an Olympic Bronze Medalist who had just returned from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics!

Two of the participants in the course passed all of their assessments and will now obtain their Bronze Medallion, which not only means they can safely participate in water activities but they can also use this qualification as a springboard to possible future employment in the aquatic industry!

The Extended Bronze Medallion program for these Ellenbrook Clontarf students was made possible thanks to funding from the Department of Health.