About us

Levelling The Deck is an initiative that supports everyone to find a welcoming place in our swimming community. It’s proudly brought to you by SWIM Coaches & Teachers Australia.

Our Diversity Initiative

Success is achieving diversity in sports that reflects the diversity we see today in our wider community. When all of us – of every age, gender, race and ability – feel like we belong in swim classes and pools across Australia, we are free to enjoy and excel at sport. Levelling the Deck supports awareness through information, fosters understanding through training and creates practical ways of contributing to a more inclusive society. We all have a role in levelling the deck.

Our Team

Joanne Love

President, SWIM Coaches & Teachers Australia

Lynn Elliot

Vice President, SWIM Coaches & Teachers Australia

Brendon Ward

CEO, SWIM Coaches & Teachers Australia

Anna Walker

Program Designer, Levelling the Deck

Victoria Clark

General Manager Commercial, Marketing & Operations, SWIM Coaches & Teachers Australia

Kara Pogos

Project Officer, SWIM Coaches & Teachers Australia

Joanne Love

Past President, SWIM Coaches & Teachers Australia

Lynn Elliot

President, SWIM Coaches & Teachers Australia

Brendon Ward

CEO, SWIM Coaches & Teachers Australia

Anna Walker

Program Designer, Levelling the Deck

Victoria Clark

General Manager Commercial, Marketing & Operations, SWIM Coaches & Teachers Australia

Kara Pogos

Project Officer, SWIM Coaches & Teachers Australia

Advisory Committee

Danielle Taylor (Chair)

Sarah Scarce

Maia

Tua-Davison

Anu Bedi

Matthew Haanappel OAM PLY

Pamela Burley

Director. SWIM Coaches & Teachers Australia; Owner and Manager. Alpha Learn to Swim

The Aqua English Project; Public Policy and Project Specialist.

Photo credit: Aqua English program helps refugees overcome trauma and learn to swim – ABC News

Manager: Welcoming Clubs at Welcoming Australia

Director/Owner: Swimz Pty Ltd; Founder/CEO: CSmart Consulting; President: Impowerfull Inc; Board Member: Greater Cumberland Chamber of Commerce; Independent Director: BREED Australia

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Leisure Services Professional; Paralympic Champion; Board Director: Swimming Victoria

Manager: Himilio Community Connect; Director: Himilio Workforce

Danielle Taylor (Chair)

Director. SWIM Coaches & Teachers Australia; Owner and Manager. Alpha Learn to Swim

Sarah Scarce

The Aqua English Project; Public Policy and Project Specialist

Maia

Tua-Davison

Manager: Welcoming Clubs at Welcoming Australia

Anu Bedi

Director/Owner: Swimz Pty Ltd; Founder/CEO: CSmart Consulting; President: Impowerfull Inc; Board Member: Greater Cumberland Chamber of Commerce; Independent Director: BREED Australia

Matthew Haanappel OAM PLY

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Leisure Services Professional; Paralympic Champion; Board Director: Swimming Victoria

Pamela Burley

Manager: Himilio Community Connect; Director: Himilio Workforce

Understand

Real life stories of inclusion in our swim community

Learn

A series of diversity and inclusion online training courses

Do

Six practical steps everyone can do to level the deck

"As we witness Australian women excelling in sports, there has never been a better time than now for initiatives like Levelling the Deck to create lasting change."
Joanne Love, SWIM Coaches & Teachers Australia

Understand

We all have a journey. When we experience authentic stories from members of our swimming community, we can gain a better understanding of diversity.

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Levelling the Deck is a strategic diversity initiative by SWIM Coaches and Teachers Australia.
Everyone deserves to swim

Levelling the Deck is working actively on UN Sustainable Goal 5 [Gender Equality] and Goal 10 [Reduced Inequality].

We acknowledge the Traditional Aboriginal Owners of Country and pay our respect to them, their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and future Traditional Owners.

Period swimwear changed everything.

Courtesy of ABC News

By Elizabeth Wright

When she’s in the pool, Vanessa Ozols feels safe and accepted for who she is.

As a national-level swimmer with a disability, the community the 20-year-old has formed with other Para swimmers in her training squad means everything.

“I just feel like I have this level of understanding with them, and a strong bond,” Ozols told ABC Sport.

But it hasn’t always felt that way.

When Ozols first started menstruating, managing her period was a challenge, so she would have to skip training sessions.

Ozols lives with autism, an intellectual impairment, and a rare genetic disorder called hereditary angioedema, which causes swelling all over the body, so using period products like tampons didn’t work.

“[It would] feel sore and uncomfortable,” she said.

“On days when I’ve had my period, I just didn’t feel very motivated to swim.”

Only around 12 per cent of disabled women regularly participate in sport, due to a lack of opportunity, funding and access.

And when it comes to periods, Ozols isn’t the only one who struggles.

Disabled athletes skipping sport in big numbers

New research from Victoria University and national period charity Share the Dignity shows 68 per cent of disabled girls and women are regularly skipping sport because of their period.

The vast majority of the 273 people who responded to the survey regularly engaged in sport at all levels. Swimming was the most popular activity.

Victoria University lead researcher Clare Hanlon said sport should be accessible to everyone, and it was time to address the impact menstruation was having.

“We wanted to identify how and what needs to occur to change this,” Professor Hanlon said.

Over a third of respondents avoided sport because they didn’t have access to the period products they needed.

Many didn’t feel comfortable using pads, tampons and menstrual cups because of sensory issues, while others with physical disabilities didn’t have the dexterity to use some products.

Worries about leakage were a concern, which in turn affected confidence. Inaccessible and dirty toilets and change rooms also contributed to period anxiety.

A lack of education and communication was also a significant issue, with 61 per cent of respondents unsure how to discuss their period needs with sports staff.

Professor Hanlon said this research presented opportunities for national sporting organisations, local clubs and period product suppliers to adapt to the needs of the disability community.

“Our findings showed the importance of asking individuals about what their needs are and that not one solution fits all,” she said.

Researchers believe a lot can be done when it comes to finding solutions.

Professor Hanlon said better communication between athletes and coaches was a good place to start, as well as increasing funding for period underwear, heat pads and wipes.

“All of this needs to be considered in order to create an environment where participants feel welcome and included,” she said.

‘The power to be able to swim’

Swimming Australia is one sporting organisation that has made changes to accommodate the menstrual needs of girls and women.

It developed inclusive swimwear guidelines in 2021 to cover considerations around gender, disability and religion, including period swimwear.

The guidelines state that anyone can use hygiene swimwear and it doesn’t need to be approved by officials, something that Ozols didn’t know when competing at the state championships.

Discovering period swimwear changed the way Ozols could not only train but also compete when she had her period.

“They have given me the power to be able to swim and not miss a single session,” Ozols said.

Sarah Greenaway is the founder of Eltee Sydney, which makes period underwear for swimming.

It contains a waterproof layer with a seal to prevent water from getting to the gusset.

Ms Greenaway designed her version of the swimwear, which fits under normal swimming costumes, to help keep girls in sport, including her own daughter, Cleo.

“It took her dropping out of swimming for me to think, ‘Oh, there’s got to be a solution,'” Ms Greenaway said.

“The mission [is] being able to give girls the ability to stay in the pool and to be able to enjoy the things they enjoy and keep them healthy and active.”

And she wants more awareness around guidelines like Swimming Australia’s.

“There needs to be a strategy and a rollout to really make people understand what it is, what it means,” Ms Greenaway said.

Knowledge, guidelines, key to participation

It’s hoped that other sporting organisations will follow Swimming Australia’s lead to keep disabled girls and women in sport.

“One of the key benefits of sport is the mental, physical and social health [it] provides for individuals,” Professor Hanlon said.

“If we know that support is out there, more people with disability will be encouraged to play sport more often.”

For Ozols, it was not just about achieving success at the Nationals; it was about regular participation and spending time with friends.

“It makes everything easier, and you can just focus on other things,” Ozols said.

“I wish that they had created period swimwear a very long time ago … wearing inclusive underwear has given me that freedom and that comfort, and I feel very confident in them.”

Credit: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-31/periods-barrier-disabled-women-in-sport-participation/106726306

From Zero to Hero - Breaking Barriers in Aquatic Education

Nadia’s journey began far from the ocean. Growing up in Iran during years of war, she was a child who knew air raid sirens before she ever saw the sea. As a teenager, she experienced the Caspian coast for the first time, only to discover government rules forbade her from swimming alongside her brothers. For years, water remained out of reach.

More than two decades later, Nadia arrived in Tasmania. Surrounded by beaches and ocean, she faced a new challenge: she couldn’t swim. With determination, she taught herself through online videos, friends’ support, and sheer persistence. She endured setbacks, cultural barriers, and discrimination, but she refused to give up. Her passion for the water grew into underwater hockey, scuba diving, and eventually becoming a scientific diver, scuba instructor, and national underwater rugby and hockey player.

In 2017, Nadia founded From Zero to Hero, a social enterprise dedicated to teaching adult migrants and refugees how to swim. What began as her own fight to belong has become a movement of empowerment: more than 1,000 refugees and new arrivals have learned essential swimming and water safety skills through her programs. From Zero to Hero is built on what Nadia calls an “ethical contract of kindness” – those who benefit are encouraged to sponsor someone else when they are able, creating a cycle of opportunity and community support.

Since then, Nadia has received an AUSTSWIM scholarship, moved to Melbourne, and become a trainer of teachers, preparing more than 500 swim instructors. She continues to advocate for water safety to be accessible to every new arrival in Australia, believing that swimming is more than a skill – it is a pathway to confidence, inclusion, and a sense of belonging.

In addition to her programs, Nadia delivers a Professional Development Workshop: Teaching Adults & Engaging Multicultural Communities in Aquatics. This workshop equips swim schools and instructors with practical tools to adapt their teaching for adult learners and create culturally inclusive environments. It reflects Nadia’s belief that meaningful change comes not only from teaching swimmers, but also from empowering teachers to welcome every learner.

Her message to students and communities alike: “Be the hero of your yesterday.”

Learn more: fromzerotoheroaustralia.com.au

Watch Nadia’s TEDx presentation: https://youtu.be/tFzKLjX2JuQ?si=_XWtbDiv17otg516

Vari Wants to Go Surfing

Part 1

Vari contacted me and said he would like to take up surfing. The only problem? At 25 years old, having grown up in India, he couldn’t swim a single stroke.

Opportunities to learn had been scarce in his home country, and his older brother had traumatised him twice by holding him underwater. That experience was enough to keep him away from the water and swimming for years.

When Vari came to me, he couldn’t even remember the last time he had been in a pool. His eagerness matched his nervousness, and to his credit, he was willing to get into the learn-to-swim pool and even put his face in the water. Standing waist-deep, he repeated several times that he couldn’t float, let alone swim.

By working to Vari’s comfort level, slowly, his stiff posture softened and his breath steadied. Then after just one hour of floating and streamline practice, Vari was not only floating but also moving in the water. He wasn’t swimming yet, but he had made a strong and promising start toward his dream.

When I asked if he was happy after that first hour, his face lit up. “I’m more than 100% happy!” he laughed.

Part 2

Over the next few days, inspired by his initial success and buoyed by the belief that he really could learn to swim, Vari returned to the pool on his own. He practiced his floating and gliding, each visit softening his nerves and replacing old fears with new confidence. After just a few days, much of his uneasiness about being in the water had melted away. He was ready for another lesson.

His only complaint from his practice was that his legs seemed determined to sink – a frustration nearly every beginner shares. Together we worked on a gentle kick, giving his feet the instruction to “find the surface” to help with those “sinky legs.” Vari showed a natural leaning toward a breaststroke-style movement, so we shaped that into a simple arm action paired with a freestyle-type kick. Using this combination and without worrying yet about breathing he surprised himself by propelling across the width of the pool several times.

As with so many new swimmers, breathing proved the biggest challenge. The rhythm of moving the arms sideways while kicking gently, then lifting the head to inhale is an odd coordination at first. It reminded me of the “pat your head and rub your belly” exercise -something that takes persistence before it clicks. To make it easier, we broke it down step by step: first practicing the actions standing in the water, then walking in the water, building the muscle memory before asking him to piece it together while actually swimming.

He was a little disappointed that the breathing wasn’t coming easily, but I reminded him that less than a week ago he had doubted he could float at all.

Free play is always important, so when Vari asked about other strokes, we experimented. His backstroke surprised us both. All that floating practice with his head out of the water paid off, and suddenly he was propelling himself through the water on his back.

Eager to keep progressing, Vari asked about trying his floating in the lap pool. This pool is deeper and larger, and at first, I sensed a flicker of unease as he stood neck deep. But within minutes, he settled in and was practicing his floats.

By the end of the session, Vari didn’t yet have a full set of swimming skills, but he did have something just as important: an understanding of what he needed to practice, and how to practice it. He left the pool with a plan, a little more confidence, and the motivation to return when he was ready for the next step.

Part 3

After a couple of weeks of quiet self-practice, Vari returned for another lesson. He’d made clear progress and now able to swim a full 25 metre lap with his own version of breaststroke. Interestingly, his original flutter type had naturally evolved into more of a breaststroke kick. The problem, he said, was running short of air. Each lap ended in a burst of frantic effort just to reach the wall, and treading water wasn’t working well either.

We adjusted his breathing pattern, switching from one breath every stroke to one every two. The change was immediate. The frantic bobbing turned into a calm rhythm, and suddenly he could swim a lap in the smaller pool without finishing breathless.

Watching the swimmers glide up and down the lap pool, all doing freestyle, Vari’s curiosity lit up and he wanted to try it too. So back in the pool, we walked through freestyle arm movements, step by step. When he finally gave it a go, his earlier skills in floating and breaststroke kicked in. He managed a short freestyle swim, no breath yet, but smooth enough to surface smiling and surprised.

In the lap pool, Vari swam another confident 25 metre lap using breaststroke, then easily mastered both ‘Float to Survive’ and elementary backstroke. For the first time, he was moving comfortably from floats to strokes, proof that his confidence and control were growing fast.

Now, he says swimming practice is “a lot of fun.” He leaves each session with a quiet grin and a new sense of belief.

He’s still a few months away from starting his surfing dream, but the path is clear now. After only a few weeks, Vari knows that his dream can become a reality.

From insecurity to pride, swimmer embraces uniqueness.

Tayla Martin

As soon as Tayla Martin dives into the water, she taps into what she calls her “superpower.”

Swimming rules require competitors to wear a cap at the start of a race, but Martin doesn’t keep hers on for long.
“As my arm’s coming over my head, I just like flick it off from the back to the front, making sure that my goggles don’t come off in the process,” she said with a grin.

Martin lives with alopecia, a condition that causes hair loss. Her mother has it, too.
“I’ve had alopecia pretty much my whole life, I haven’t known any different,” Martin said.
“And you know what? I embrace it, I love it, it’s a part of who I am.”

But the path to confidence wasn’t easy.
“Yes, it was definitely a struggle,” she said. “Self-image, body image has always been a big part of me.
“As a teenager I struggled trying to fit in. I would refer to princesses, and princesses all have hair.
“And then you see everyone in school, and you’re just like the only one with no hair and it’s just like, ‘why am I different?'”

Over time, Martin found strength in that difference.
“I’m happy to be who I am, and I wouldn’t change that.”

Meeting her partner, Phoenix, was part of that journey.
“Even after high school, I didn’t think anyone would love me. Now I’ve been with my partner for four and a half years. He just loves me and accepts me.
“That helped me with my confidence, loving myself and accepting who I am.”

Martin has always been a talented swimmer, though her development didn’t follow the typical path of her peers.
“You’ve got to be able to navigate,” she said of open water races. “You’ve got people on top of you, people punching and kicking you – all legal – but you can’t respond to that.”

Open water swimming suits her well. She has an intuitive feel for reading tides and currents and doesn’t rely on the black line that pool swimmers use to guide their way.
“For us, it’s about sighting – lifting your head to see where you’re going and doing that frequently so you don’t veer off course.”

Martin’s smaller stature – just 165cm and quite slight – is balanced by a strong VO2 max and excellent power-to-weight ratio, key assets in distance swimming.

Her persistence paid off when she competed at the Open Water Swimming World Cup in Egypt, where she placed 15th in the 10km event ahead of some of Australia’s top swimmers.

“It was so surreal – a real pinch-me moment,” she said of her performance.
“You train so hard for so long, going through the same patterns and routines. I was achieving little bits and pieces, but nothing as big as that. When it finally came together, I didn’t know what to do, what to say, how to react.”

Her coach, Adam Nesbit, says her journey is unique.
“For a swimmer to reach this level later in their twenties is rare, especially in endurance swimming,” he said.
“But Tayla bucks the trend.”

Martin prefers not to put pressure on herself when competing.
“I don’t like to set expectations, because when I do, I don’t perform as well.
“I just go in wanting to enjoy the moment — and when I do that, I actually swim better.”

That mindset combined with her unique experience, mental strength, and technical ability continues to shape her promising open water career.

And through it all, Martin’s signature move remains tossing off her swim cap and embracing her bald head.

“I think it’s an advantage,” she said.

Her outlook is simple:
“Now it’s just about putting my head down, ripping off my cap, and enjoying every moment – after half a lifetime of hard work.”

Full article courtesy of ABC Sport

Celebrating 40 Years of the Superfins

Superfins WA has grown substantially since its creation in 1985 as a club for swimmers with cerebral palsy. Welcoming swimmers with a wide range of disabilities, the club includes a learn-to-swim program, two squads- Stroke Development and Senior Squad, and a vibrant swimming and social calendar. Each year the club offers three swimming camps- including open water camps for the Rottnest Channel and Busselton Jetty Swims, quiz nights, movie outings, a Christmas pantomime held over two nights, and more. In recent years, the swimmers have performed in the pantomime to a sold-out theatre of five-hundred audience members each session.

The club has a strong retention rate. At the end of 2024, forty-three of its eighty-five squad swimmers had been members for ten years or more. Years of membership from five years onwards are celebrated in five-year increments at the annual awards night, along with many other swimmer achievements.

Coaching the Superfins

Luka began coaching the Superfins in 2021 as part of the practicum for his Sports Science course, and became head coach in 2024.

A highlight of his coaching career has been attending the open water camps. He also enjoyed performing in the pantomime for the first time in 2024, after many years of merely watching.

While many of his swimmers are keen participants in masters events, Luka’s first masters event was the 2025 Masters Swimming Australia National Championships in Melbourne. The team spent ten days in Melbourne- allowing five days to explore and enjoy Melbourne after the event.

When it comes to coaching, Luka says it’s important to know the communication needs of swimmers. This might involve repeating instructions, taking a swimmers aside to explain one to one, or breaking down a 200m mixed stroke set 50m at a time. Some swimmers have said that they joined the Superfins instead of a mainstream club because they found the instructions at the mainstream club to be too quick. It’s important to have swimmers’ attention before explaining a set, says Luka, and to check for understanding and listening. Physical demonstration is also very important.

Luka cautions against being unnecessarily lenient for swimmers with disabilities and recommends that coaches work out what swimmers can and can’t do and find a way around limitations. Modify, says Luka. Don’t just give up.

Swimming with the Superfins

Superfins members speak highly of the club, and particularly love its social opportunities, supportive culture, and great vibe.

Dylan, a member with an S14 Multi Class classification, which applies to swimmers with an intellectual impairment, says that the Superfins are a great club through which he’s made lots of friends. Dylan races all distances, but his goals revolve around open water swimming. The highlight of his swimming journey to date has been competing in an open water race at the at the World Special Olympic Games in Athens in 2011, where he won bronze.

James, who also has an S14 classification, has been a member of the Superfins for around thirteen years. He also describes the Superfins as a great club and says that there’s nothing he would change about it. The highlight of his swimming career has been travelling to different cities for national competitions. His advice on coaching swimmers with disabilities is to treat them the same as able-bodied swimmers.

Mischa has been with the Superfins for twenty-eight years . “I think it’s best known for its longevity,” she says. “People want to stay”. The highlights of her swimming journey have been the trips, and the South African National Games in 2011 because it was her first international competition.

Mischa has seen the club become more inclusive since she first joined, welcoming swimmers with a broader range of disabilities. Classified as S8, Mischa has muscular myopathy, a condition which means her muscles tire easily and which affects her coordination. Her advice to coaches is to approach each swimmer as an individual, and that even among swimmers with the same disability, there’s no one size fits all approach. She also says it’s important for coaches to form positive relationships with their swimmers- within appropriate boundaries, of course.

Dianne joined the Superfins in 1997 at the age of 13, and in 1999 she attended her first national competition in Sydney. Her coach quickly saw her potential to be a Paralympian, and in 2004 she competed in her first Paralympics in Athens, where she was a finalist in the 100m breaststroke. In order to meet the number of training sessions required to compete at the Paralympics, Dianne had to train with a mainstream club.

Dianne has Cerebral Palsy, which affects her fine motor skills, balance, and speech. “I can do whatever able-bodied people can do,” says Dianne, “just with a few limitations.” For example, she is supported on the starting block, and can’t swim in the cold as much as others without her muscles being affected. She appreciates that her coach has good knowledge of the swimmers, and the expertise to cater to each swimmer individually.

Dianne says the Superfins are an all-round great club to be part of. She loves the atmosphere, the people, and the social opportunities, such as the pantomimes and movie nights.

Her goal is to achieve as many pbs as possible, and have fun while doing it.

Looking ahead

One of the challenges the club faces is an aging committee. Chairperson Rob and Vice Chairperson Janice have been on the committee since 1997. As swimmers with disabilities and their support networks get older, says Jannice, support workers take up the role parents had in bringing swimmers to training. Since the NDIS was introduced, there have been fewer parents joining the committee.

Fortunately, for now, it doesn’t appear that Janice is in a hurry to step down. “I love the club. [It’s] done a lot for my daughter [Dianne] and me personally over time,” she says. “It’s very worthwhile being involved with a club as good as the Superfins.”

From Misunderstood to Mentor: How Connor Bailey Became the Teacher he Once Needed.

Connor Bailey is a facility manager and senior swimming teacher. In 2024 he was named SWIM Australia Teacher of the Year for Learners with Disability.

Connor’s teaching philosophy is shaped by his early life. “I wish more people treated me the way that I treat people now,” he says. He strives to be the teacher he would like to have had when he was a child. Reflecting on some of his experiences growing up with autism, he knows “exactly what not to do”.

Childhood and diagnosis

As a four-year-old living in Central Queensland, Connor was diagnosed with what was then called “Asperger’s Syndrome”, before autism was understood to be a spectrum. As the first in his community with this diagnosis, Connor received trial services from various professionals. His mother, Linda, was told that he wouldn’t be able to communicate effectively, function independently, or contribute to society in any significant way- predictions which continued into Connor’s school years.

At school, he struggled to fit in. As a migrant from the UK living in rural Queensland, his accent stood out, and he processed things differently from his peers. When overstimulated or upset, he lashed out. While a few teachers were supportive, most teachers doubted his potential and wrote him off as a nuisance. To them, when he wasn’t sitting down and listening, he was being naughty. In grade four, his school determined they could not provide adequate support for Connor, and from then on he was homeschooled.

That Connor would grow up to have a successful career in aquatics was not something anyone predicted.

Aquatics career journey

Connor’s pathway into an aquatics career began when he was hired as a duty supervisor at the local pool. He’d wanted a change from the hardship of working on a farm during a drought, and was later told he was the only person interviewed. But Connor discovered he had a knack for workplace health and safety compliance, and excelled in the role. His responsibilities soon grew to seven pools.

During Covid, Connor and Linda felt it was time for a sea change, and they moved to Toowoomba. Connor obtained his SWIM Australia Teacher (SAT) qualification, as well as extension qualifications: Teacher of Babies and Toddlers and Teacher of Competitive Strokes. Despite high demand for teachers and his many applications, only one swimming school, Darren Lange Swimming Academy, gave him an interview, and he was subsequently hired as a swimming teacher.

His manager quickly recognised Connor’s aptitude for workplace health and safety compliance, and he was promoted to Facilities Leader, and then Facilities Manager, leading a team of 20 staff who help keep facilities maintained. During this time, Connor earned his SWIM Australia Teacher of Learners with Disabilities qualification. His teaching skills were noticed, and he was promoted to Senior Teacher, a role that includes assisting with the training of forty teachers.

Teaching philosophy

Connor knows that for some children, in particular neurodivergent children, the pool can be a stressful and overstimulating environment. He feels it’s important for children at the point of meltdown to have a safe environment, with a calm and supportive adult there, to work through their emotions, and that can be in the water with their teacher present. “If I don’t have the patience to deal with children as children are, I shouldn’t be working as a teacher,” he says.

He has found that some parents brace for being told their child is an issue and being judged, but knows that often when children play up its because they’re feeling dysregulated.

For Connor, teaching swimming is about more than teaching water safety- it’s about teaching life skills, such as coordination and healthy emotional regulation. A child shouldn’t be permitted to scream at their teacher, but they can scream underwater so that they have an outlet.

“I’m very careful with what I say and how I teach it,” says Connor. “Because if you are a child’s safe person, they are going to mirror your behaviours. They are going to be like, that’s a person who I think is a safe person. I want to be like that person… So even if they’re going to mirror my personality, I want them to mirror something that will improve them.”

Becoming the Teacher Connor would like to have had.

Connor Bailey – Facilities Manager, Senior Swim Teacher, SWIM Australia Teacher of the Year – Learners with Disability.

Connor Bailey is a facility manager and senior swimming teacher. In 2024 he was named SWIM Australia Teacher of the Year – Learners with Disability.

Connor strives to be the teacher he would like to have had when he was a child. “I wish more people treated me the way that I treat people now,” he says.

Reflecting on some of his experiences growing up with autism, Connor knows “exactly what not to do”.

At school, Connor struggled to fit in. As a migrant from the UK living in rural Queensland, his accent stood out, and he processed things differently from his peers. When overstimulated or upset, he lashed out. While a few teachers were supportive, most teachers doubted his potential and wrote him off as a nuisance. To them, when he wasn’t sitting down and listening, he was being naughty. In grade four, his school determined they could not provide adequate support for Connor, and from then on he was homeschooled.

His manager recognised Connor’s aptitude for workplace health and safety compliance, and he was promoted to Facilities Leader, and then Facilities Manager, leading a team of 20 staff who help keep facilities maintained. During this time, Connor earned his SWIM Australia Teacher of Learners with Disabilities qualification. His teaching skills were noticed, and he was promoted to Senior Teacher, a role that includes assisting with the training of forty teachers.

Connor has found that some parents brace for being told their child is an issue and being judged, but knows that often when children play up its because they’re feeling dysregulated.

“I’m very careful with what I say and how I teach it, because if you are a child’s safe person, they are going to mirror your behaviours. They are going to be like, that’s a person who I think is a safe person. I want to be like that person… So even if they’re going to mirror my personality, I want them to mirror something that will improve them.”

How Ruby Storm Conquered Fear and Found Success

Ruby Storm has earned multiple medals on the international stage.

Her Paralympic tally includes silver and bronze respectively in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay and women’s 100m butterfly at Tokyo 2020, and silver in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay (S14) at Paris 2024.

She cherishes not only the memories of standing on the podium alongside teammates, but also the moments that led there: Being selected for the Australian Paralympic team, making the finals, and walking to the diving block amid the sound of a cheering crowd.

Ruby is from the Wiradjuri tribe in Deniliquin and grew up on the lands of the Gunaikurnai people in Traralgon, Victoria. In 2022 she became the second para-swimmer to represent Australia at a Commonwealth Games.

Through getting to know her teammates, Ruby feels that stories of resilience and overcoming adversity are part of what makes the Paralympics so special. Her own resilience and determination have helped her overcome challenges and surpass expectations on the way to sporting success.

Fear of water

It’s hard to believe that when Ruby was a toddler enrolled in swimming lessons, she was scared to get in the water. “I was just petrified,” says Ruby. “Mum could not get me in that water. I was screaming!” She started to warm up to it on a family holiday to Queensland, when she would try to compete in the pool with her sister, Issie. Subsequently, during Issie’s swimming lessons, Ruby would try to copy her sister from the baby pool, teaching herself the foundations of swimming.

From there, Ruby was re-enrolled in a Learn-to-Swim program with a newfound enjoyment of swimming. It was her swimming teacher who introduced her to squad swimming with the Traralgon Swimming Club, setting Ruby on her pathway to success.

Ruby is now a swimming teacher herself, and has students who are aquaphobic, just like she used to be. “Even if they just touch the water, that’s a bonus,” she says. “I think every kid goes through a phase [where] they’re scared of something… Especially with swimming, it’s going to be hard at the start. But you’ve got to trust your Learn to Swim instructors.”

Ruby also recommends making swimming fun by playing games in the pool. “Let them enjoy it a little bit as it goes on and then hopefully, hopefully they’ll start loving it.”

Neurodivergence and the Paralympics

Ruby competes in the S14, SB14, and SM14 Multi Class categories, denoting swimmers with an intellectual impairment. As a child, she was diagnosed with autism, and attended speech therapy to overcome a stutter. At school, she struggled with learning. However, some teachers failed to recognise that she was struggling and in need of extra support.

Ruby found a new enjoyment for school in her teens when she moved to a school that specialised in teaching young people with additional needs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the family moved to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, and Ruby went back to mainstream schooling. Her new school was supportive not just of her learning needs, but of her swimming commitments and Paralympic dreams.

With an invisible disability, Ruby has faced some uncomfortable reactions to her being on the Australian Paralympic team. “People will look at me saying ‘what’s wrong with you?’ If I tell them I’m at the Paralympics, they’ll look me up and down, and they’ll be like ‘you’re normal’. But I think hopefully that will change as it goes on, because the Paralympics is getting a lot bigger.”

At the same time, Ruby dislikes it when people change the way they speak to her after finding out about her disability, and encourages swimming teachers not to use baby talk with children with disabilities. “You can talk maybe a little bit clearer and slower, but you don’t have to talk differently for them to learn”.

Looking ahead

At times Ruby struggled to be on a swimming team in environments where parents weren’t allowed. But she feels these experiences have helped her grow and become more independent. She hopes to move out of home in the near future, and knows her parents will be there to help her when needed.

When she retires from elite swimming, she would like to study floristry full time, a craft she had to put on hold due travel time and swimming commitments.

But first she has her sight set on LA 2028.

Her advice to aspiring athletes with disabilities?

“Just go for it. You just gotta put your mind to it and just don’t give up, because obviously along the road there will be times where you think you can’t do it and there will be no support, but there is always support. Hopefully your mum and dad will be behind you, and you can do it. Anything is possible”.

Finding a safe environment for learning to swim and the doors it unlocked.

Sarah Malik – Walkley Award-winning Australian journalist and writer

Growing up in Western Sydney, Sydney’s iconic beachscape felt a million miles away to Sarah Malik. “The only time I ever saw a beach was when watching Home and Away,” she writes. “The ‘real’ Australia was on the sun-soaked beaches of TV, not in my life.”

Sarah’s parents had not grown up with swimming and did not see it as essential. Further, they viewed swimwear as scandalous. As a teenager, Sarah’s self-consciousness about her leg hair added another reason to stay out of the pool. “When I was a kid, my dad would take me and my younger sister to the local Ripples pool in western Sydney’s St Marys. I would splash happily in the shallow area and look at the lanes with awe and fear. When I entered high school, I no longer fitted into my kid swimsuit and there were no more trips to the pool.”

Sarah decided to learn to swim after moving out of home and deciding to learn to surf.

“My swim journey started with lessons in a city pool near my university dorm room with groups of mostly adult immigrants. The instructors spoke slowly and provided encouragement as we clutched boards to practise kicks, flailing wildly. I watched enviously as white people glided past in the squad lanes, sometimes pushing me out of the way or snorting impatiently if I accidentally veered into their lane.”

“In those moments I would feel embarrassed, angry at my own slowness, and cheated of the easy skill of swimming. I could ace every exam and outwit the Anglos at tests, but swimming required body memory that I imagined was passed down invisibly in infant-acclimatising ocean and pool holidays. My inability to swim was a metaphor for my Muslim-ness, my un-Australian-ness, my hirsute-ness: all the things I had been conditioned to be embarrassed by and ashamed of.”

Sarah’s most significant progress in the pool came through attending women’s only after-hours swimming sessions at the Auburn Swim Centre during her 20s. Having previously been disinterested in women-only spaces, she found this new swimming environment freeing, devoid of the threat of racial incidents or being knocked by faster swimmers.

“The idea of “safe spaces” is often derided, but in a country where friends have been spat at, yelled at and even physically assaulted in public, the question is not why we have these spaces but why we don’t have more. There is comfort and freedom in a place where you can literally let your hair down and recharge.”

In 2016, Sarah moved to Coogee and going to the beach became a daily routine. Swimming at the McIver Ladies baths was a source of tranquillity and joy. “The iciness on my nerves was an instant salve, and watching the sun rise as my body moved through the water, I felt my heart rate slow down,” writes Sarah. “When I’m in the ocean, absorbed in its rhythms, I feel I’m in the embrace of something wild and natural and free.”

This story was comprised from an edited extract in The Sydney Morning Herald from Sarah’s essay collection Desi Girl.

Sarah Malik: How learning to swim as an adult changed my life

Desi Girl: On feminism, race, faith and belonging | UQP

A club helping athletes with intellectual impairments to excel

Inclusive Sports Training

Inclusive Sports Training is a coaching business that specialises in coaching athletes with learning difficulties. Its goals are to provide fun, fitness, and sports training with like-minded peers and expert coaching; provide an opportunity for athletes to train, prepare and participate in mainstream events; and provide a sporting pathway for students during and after schooling years.

Liz Gosper started the business as an out-of-school weekend sports program while working as a PE Teacher at a school for students with mild intellectual disabilities. Now, IST members range from 10 to 35 years old, with programs catering to students with emerging abilities to world class athletes.

A familiar player in sporting communities, IST is affiliated with various sporting clubs and peak bodies, such as School Sport Australia, Triathlon Australia and Masters Swimming Australia, and is regularly represented at club, state, national, and world events. Its official Facebook page celebrates and gives testament to hundreds of member victories.

IST is committed to creating a safe and welcoming culture for athletes with special needs. One way it does this is by employing highly qualified and experienced staff. “We are not just coaches,” says Liz. “Every group has a Special Ed 5-year university qualified leader. We employ Special Education Teachers who have an enormous amount of experience with intellectually impaired athletes”. Further to this, IST does not advertise. Its reputation is built through word of mouth, with new members joining by recommendations from other families.

One recommendation Liz has for swimming schools, clubs, and organisations looking to create a more inclusive environment for people with learning disabilities is to employ staff with a high level of skill and experience in that area, as it is a specialist field. “Know what you are talking about. When a swim teacher works with a child with special needs, they should have lots of training with qualified and successful coaches.”

IST has faced numerous challenges in its lifetime, primarily in advocating for inclusion and fairness for its athletes. Key learnings? “Be patient for change both with the athletes’ learning and progression and it is an individual process for each athlete,” says Liz. She would like to see more opportunities and inclusion for athletes with disabilities, such as Multi-Class competition at all levels of masters swimming, as well as more information about what people with intellectual impairments can achieve and increased awareness of sporting pathways available.

Swimming for self and survival

Angelica Oijnnaka-Psillakis – global youth affairs leader, advocate, researcher, and speaker

Growing up, swimming was an activity that Angelica felt left out of. “Water and swimming and the excitement around the pool has always been something that has fascinated me but also frustrated me at the same time,” she says. “I always wanted to swim. I wanted that birthday party at a swimming pool that my schoolmates had. I wanted to join in conversations about going to the beach on the weekends. And I wanted to go to Bondi. I didn’t even know where that was as a kid, all I knew was what I saw on tv. Because in my family, we didn’t go swimming.”

She recalls one instance of almost drowning at a school swimming carnival after jumping in the pool without knowing how to swim, and generally avoiding the pool during her school years to avoid embarrassment.

A second generation Australian of Nigerian background, Angelica did not feel, growing up, that swimming was in her cultural DNA. She was taught that the beach was dangerous, but not how to mitigate its risks other than avoiding it. Speaking of herself and friends she says, “we just [didn’t] go to the water… there’s a disconnect somewhere there and there’s a long history to that to unpack. And so my mum just never really saw the necessity to learn to swim for us.”

In her mid-twenties, having a water-loving partner from the Northern Beaches, Angelica took matters into her own hands and signed up for a new adult learn to swim class run by the Blacktown City Council. “I got really sick and tired of being on the sidelines,” she recalls. She was also strongly motivated by a need for reprieve from the rising summer heat. “I have to learn some kind of survival skill, and the water is this thing that we gravitate towards [on] those extreme heat days.”

“Just through learning to swim, I learned so much more about myself, community, and place, which was a journey that I wasn’t even expecting,” she says. Angelica recalls crying in her first lesson, overwhelmed at realising what she’d missed out on. She was also overwhelmed by starting her journey with more than ten similarly tentative strangers, but quickly began to feel in her element.

“Once we got into the water for the first lesson and just chatting to the people next to me around how they were feeling, I just felt immediately part of a community. We’re doing this together. And by the end of the bulk of the swimming lessons, we just cheered each other on. It was so motivating and there was a sense of community, connection, and feeling that access that I didn’t get when I was younger.”

Angelica believes there needs to be more information and explanation, particularly for migrant communities who face a higher risk of drowning, about the importance of learning to swim and its benefits to health, wellbeing, and social connection.

Angelica would also like to see the issue of inequitable access to swimming spaces addressed. “There’s disproportionately a smaller number of public pools, about five in the Blacktown City Council region, that’re servicing over four hundred thousand people in the region, compared to the east coast like Randwick, where there’re up to nine public swimming pools, and then there’s obviously the long coastline of the beach. And so for that many people in an area that is growing in terms of population, being able to access water is quite limited.”

Angelica has kept up her swimming, even through winter. She shares her story in the Sink or Swim Podcast, a part of the Welcome to Blacktown project that celebrates the stories of people shaping a better future for their communities in the Blacktown area.

Listen on:

Apple: https://apple.co/3Y44PfS
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/17YFHWVjYGuIrmj6Klmv4a
Universal podcast player: https://pod.link/1766188466

Sources:

Angelica Oijnnaka-Psillakis interview with Julian Morrow, ABC Radio National

Angelica Oijnnaka-Psillakis interview with Craig Reucassel, ABC Radio Sydney

Sink or Swim Trailer

Helping all children reach their swimming potential

Swim 4 All

Swim 4 All was founded to provide an environment where children with autism could learn to swim. As a parent of a child with Asperger’s Syndrome, as a swim teacher and coach, and through her involvement in a support group for children with autism, founder Natalie Fintrop-Clarke was aware that there was a deficit of swim schools accommodating children with autism.

Swim 4 All’s philosophy is that everyone is welcome, no matter what abilities or disabilities they may have, and aims to help all students reach their swimming potential.

A large proportion of its students are neurodivergent. Natalie has found that many of her students learn best in one on one classes but supports students joining mainstream classes when they are able. When staffing allows, Swim 4 All offers private classes and mainstream classes at the same facility. The idea is that the whole family can come and have swimming lessons, and children starting out in private lessons have an option to later join mainstream classes.

A major focus for teachers at Swim 4 All is to get to know each student. “How do they learn and how do you adapt your teaching to help that student? If a student has a special interest, engage with them about their special interest. Use that in your teaching of them.”

“It’s just getting used to each student, find out all you can about them and then read up on that. If they have autism, read up on the characteristics of autism and what you might expect so that you’re informed. Don’t assume that every kid on the autism spectrum is the same either but have a bit of understanding.”

Natalie encourages parents to be forthcoming with information about their children’s needs. “Lots of parents don’t want their kids to have a label, or think they’ll change, or don’t want to give that information. Every parent is different, and their choice is their own. But I say to them, any information you give me is only accessed by reception and the teacher, and the more information the teacher has, the better the job they’re going to do.”

She encourages parents to bring their child to the teacher on their first lesson and chat to the teacher about their child. “Our first lesson should always be gaining information and having a great time with the child, so they want to come back. Instilling rules like you can’t run, you can’t jump, you must stay in your space so as not to impact on others. But while we’re in our space, what would you like to do? Do you like getting things off the bottom? Do you like the noodle?”

“It’s very much talking to them- communicating with them, communicating with their parents. For example, “if they’re non-verbal, [asking] “what can your child understand? How do I make them feel safe?”

The program is designed to give students the same space and teacher for every lesson, so the environment can be consistent as possible.

Natalie says that it’s important for teachers to understand kids’ abilities as well as any disabilities they have and allow them to excel in what they’re good at, in addition to correcting what they’re not yet good at. For example, if a child is skilled at breaststroke, which is normally taught after freestyle and backstroke, the teacher could start the lesson with a few laps of breaststroke.

Swim 4 All’s focus on welcoming everyone, encouraging communication, and knowing the individual applies to staff as well as students. Staff are encouraged to contact Natalie or the manager as needed, and to communicate their needs so that they can be supported. Support can include reformatting lesson plans for a teacher with dyslexia, repeating information as needed for a teacher with a learning disability, or giving teachers as much time as needed to complete their training hours. Some of the staff who have taken the longest to complete their training hours have become the best teachers.

Natalie is proud of Swim 4 All’s achievements. In teaching countless children to swim, there have been moments that stood out, such as seeing a student with no movement in his legs and limited movement in one arm gain the ability to swim across the pool and delight in the sense of freedom. Some swimmers who began in private lessons at Swim 4 All have become staff members. Another former student has become a world champion triathlete and credits his achievements to the confidence he gained at his former swim school.

Developing a safe and supportive club welcoming LGBTQIA+ swimmers

Glamourhead Sharks

In 2001, a group of swimmers in Melbourne got together to start the Glamourhead Sharks and prepare themselves to participate in the 2002 Gay Games in Sydney, following in the footsteps of Wett Ones, their sister club in Sydney which formed in 1991.

They began with a few sessions a week on the south side of the Yarra River and one coach. As at the beginning of September 2024, the club offers five weekly sessions, north and south of the river, has a pool of coaches, and just over 100 members.

Club President and long-time member Paul Whelan shares more information about the club.

What is your mission/ purpose/ goal?

Health, fitness, community and inclusion.

Whether you want to swim to get fit or improve your swimming for competition, we cater to a wide variety of skill levels.

We aim to create a welcoming place for swimmers of all ages and genders to participate. We also recognise the value of social events outside of the pool and the camaraderie built when the team get together to compete locally and away.

Can you tell me about the philosophy/culture of the club?

As queer people we have spent lifetimes fighting for equality and inclusion. We also recognise and celebrate our queerness as a point of difference. It is our difference as queer people that is the basis for our club’s culture. You can find us at swim comps in colourful togs, cheering for each other, waving to the camera from behind the blocks, and generally being visible queer folk in the masters swimming community.

When we host our own swim meet (every two years) we have a little opening ceremony with dancers and drag queens and after the races are swum, we host a big buffet dinner with our famous trifle competition. We are often told by the (quite straight) masters swimming community that it is their favourite competition in the calendar. Visibility in pride is very important to us.

What are some barriers to LGBTQIA+ participation in swimming?

There have been a few studies that have investigated queer people’s participation in sport and what barriers, homophobia and discrimination they have faced. One that springs to mind is titled ‘Out on the Fields’. We know implicitly and now empirically that young queer people tend to avoid participating in sport, especially team sport, forvarious reasons.

Having dedicated queer sporting clubs enables those people (albeit later in life) to rediscover sport in a safer, more welcoming environment. We can be ourselves at the Glams – can throw off the day and be a bit silly together while also getting fit and improving our swimming. But taking that initial plunge can be pretty daunting. I often say to new members at the club who are a bit nervous that they have already taken the biggest step – just showing up for the first time.

How do you create a safe and welcoming space for LGBTQIA+ people within your club?

It can be a daunting prospect to turn up for your first session with a queer swim squad. Getting down to your togs and trying to fit in with an established groups of friends is not easy. We have members who take the lead on introducing new swimmers at their first session and we make sure that the coach gets some one-on-one time with them before they jump in. There is often a bit of cheeky banter between the coaches and the swimmers which breaks any illusion that we’re all there being serious athletes.

We always have club announcements during a training session and that’s when we will introduce and applaud swimmers at their first session. Then we know they’ll be taken care of in their lane.

What do you do to ensure your members’ voice are heard/ their needs are met?

We have a volunteer committee that runs the day-to-day of the club and is made up from the membership. As well as informal feedback directly to coaches or committee members, we also seek input from our membership through surveys or direct communication.

What do you look for in a coach? Do you provide any special training?

There are minimum training requirements for coaches of a masters swim squad. Many of our coaches have actually come from the squad itself. They see coaching as a way of giving back to the club. This helps to reinforce our culture a bit too.

What strategies do you use to reach LGBTQIA+ identifying swimmers and get new members? How do you promote club visibility?

The Glams are a regular feature at Midsumma events with a booth at Carnival every year and you can often find us in the pride parade. In 2023 we ran a very successful ‘Give Swimming a Go’ event as part of Midsumma and participated in a number of pool party events to promote the club.

We have reached out to other sporting codes in the past to promote the club, but we often find that people find us organically. As we are not a ‘learn-to-swim’ club but a club for people who swim, the kinds of people that are suited to us are usually on the lookout for a masters club to swim with. Some of our members hear about us on the grapevine, otherwise they have been specifically seeking out a queer swim club directly.

Do you participate in any LGBTQIA+ events?

Oh yes! Apart from the Midsumma events, we regularly have groups of Glams jet off to interstate and overseas competitions. One of my most cherished memories was to attend the Gay Games with a big group of Glams in Paris in 2018.

We hosted the IGLA championships in Melbourne in 2020 and are keeping our fingers crossed that Melbourne wins its bid for the Gay Games in 2030.

Do you have any partnerships with other LGBTQIA+ groups?

We are connected to other queer swim clubs in Australia and overseas through formal and informal channels. We are a member of the International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics (IGLA) association and Masters Swimming Australia. We have working relationships with other queer sporting clubs in Melbourne through shared fundraising ventures and competition focused committees (IGLA and Gay Games).

What advice would you give to other swimming clubs/ organisations trying to create a more welcoming/ inclusive environment for LGBTQIA+ swimmers?

Listen to your members – there are definitely some queer ones in there. If they are not outwardly vocal, ask them about inclusivity. And remember that language matters. Sometimes it is the words that you use that reinforce whether queer identities are included or excluded.

Can you share any future plans?

Just keep swimming!

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"As we witness Australian women excelling in sports, there has never been a better time than now for initiatives like Levelling the Deck to create lasting change." Joanne Love, SWIM Coaches & Teachers Australia

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Danielle Taylor

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Pamela Burley

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Developing a safe and supportive club welcoming LGBTQIA+ swimmers

"As we witness Australian women excelling in sports, there has never been a better time than now for initiatives like Levelling the Deck to create lasting change."
Joanne Love, SWIM Coaches & Teachers Australia