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Belgravia Leisure’s GOswim program saw over 60,000 GOSwim students in almost 80 swim school locations across Australia absorb the Float to Survive with GOswim message, with a 20% increase in GOswim student’s water safety knowledge and confidence when swimming in open water.

To spearhead ‘Float to Survive with GOSwim’ - the country’s biggest national awareness campaign of the year, Belgravia Leisure’s GOswim program partnered up with Bruce ‘Hoppo’ Hopkins - President of the Australian Professional Ocean Lifeguard Association (APOLA) and Head of lifeguarding services for Sydney’s Waverley Council.

The Float to Survive message is a three-step floating strategy to educate Australians on what to do if they find themselves in trouble in the water across a range of environments. This collaboration came in response to alarming figures from the 2024 National Drowning Report which shows drownings have increased by 16% over the past year compared to the 10-year average, reinforcing the need for stronger water safety education across all age groups.

To reinforce the campaign message, each and every GOswim lesson across Australia – all 250,000 of them in November - began by teaching students Hopkins’ three step Float to Survive strategy:

1. Reach your head back to keep your mouth above water
2. Keep your mouth soft / don’t clench
3. Gently rotate your arms and legs in a circle motion

Hopkins also had the chance to witness his three-step strategy in action as well as deliver it to GOswim students himself as he embarked on a national tour, visiting Belgravia Leisure managed aquatic venues in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia.

The campaign achieved national exposure across owned and earned media, driving engagement through marketing and media channels with compelling content while engaging with both existing members and new leads of all ages and abilities.

Operationally, swim teachers across the country also played a pivotal role in driving home the three-step strategy, with 85% of all teachers deeming the campaign a success in engaging the students with this lifesaving message.

Results of the campaign were strong, with Hoppo’s messaging resonating not only with GOswim students and swim teachers, but also parents, locals and fans.

Key campaign stats

• Wide onsite reach: Over 250,000 GOswim lessons integrated the three-step Float to Survive strategy, reaching over 60,000 students in almost 80 locations across Australia.
• Strong Engagement: Social media impressions totalled 270,000, with a reach of 50,000 including significant engagement on the Float to Survive Australia pages as well as Hopkins’ personal and campaign Instagram accounts.
• Media Coverage: 27 earned online and print media articles landed across the country.
• Teacher Support: 85% of swim teachers rated the campaign as successful in engaging students.
• Moving the dial: The campaign resulted in GOswim students reporting a 10.2% increase in confidence in pools, a 20% improvement in water safety knowledge and a 20% increase in open-water confidence.
• Community Impact: Positive feedback from parents, teachers, and students, reinforcing the campaign's importance.

Sarah Podesta, Aquatics Manager enthused “this campaign was a powerful way to connect with the community and promote an essential water safety message ahead of summer. It’s wonderful to see that our message resonated with students, with the strong post survey results demonstrating this.

“Our team worked tirelessly as advocates to deliver something new and impactful, and seeing the positive response has been incredibly rewarding.”

Hopkins added “to see the impact that working on the Float to Survive GOswim campaign with Belgravia Leisure has had on such a large group of students has been really rewarding. To know that students right across Australia have learnt the importance of floating, as well as the easy three step strategy to go with it, is such a win and we have no doubt saved some lives in this process.

“This message is relevant to anyone, and we will continue to push Float to Survive out to all Aussies as we head into summer and out into the surf, creeks, rivers, lakes or swimming pools.”

Belgravia Leisure remains committed to empowering communities with water safety education, ensuring Australians of all ages have the skills to enjoy aquatic environments safely.

Bruce ‘Hoppo’ Hopkins’ appearances in November 2024|
6th November                    Albany Creek Aquatic Centre, Queensland
12th November                  Whitlam Leisure Centre, NSW
16th November                  Yawa Aquatic Centre, Victoria
21st November                  The Rex Barossa Aquatic Fitness, South Australia

Images from top: Bruce ‘Hoppo’ Hopkins with Sarah Podesta; Hopkins giving adult students floating lessons; Hopkins with a learn to swim class; GOswim student receiving float to survive lessons; Hopkins with Belgravia lifeguard. Credit: Belgravia Leisure

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