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YMCA Victoria is urging Victorians to be part of the solution to combat the increasing rate of drowning deaths in the State.

Life Saving Victoria’s most recent Victorian Drowning Report revealed the incidence of drowning in Victoria is at a 10 year high. The annual report revealed 47 people drowned in Victoria in 2013/14, six more deaths than the previous year.

During the current summer 11 people have drowned.

As part of its charitable function, YMCA Victoria gives swimming lessons to thousands of people who may otherwise never learn to swim.

Not everyone can afford swimming lessons so YMCA Victoria raises money and designs programs to increase access for all Victorians.

YMCA Victoria Chief Executive Peter Burns explains that more people are unable to swim than the general population might imagine, stating “through research and work with our partners, we have identified the major barriers to accessing swimming lessons are financial, cultural, disability and geographic.

“YMCA helps to address all these barriers in one way or another, but we need help to ensure we can reach every child in Victoria.

“If you’ve just returned from summer holidays you’ll have seen how much fun kids have in the water and if your child has had swimming lessons, you would have felt relieved knowing they have the skills which could save their life.”

“As a charity, we not only teach more than 52,000 kinds to swim each year, but we advocate to ensure that all kids can access swimming lessons as part of the school curriculum and strive to ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn to swim.”

YMCA Victoria is encouraging donations to be made to its website. For more information go to www.victoria.ymca.org.au 

24th January 2015 - VICTORIAN DROWNINGS LEADS TO SURF WARNING 

10th October 2013 - NEW DROWNING STATISTICS 'A SOBERING REMINDER' OF RISKS TAKEN IN AND AROUND WATER

2nd April 2013 - AUSTSWIM SUPPORT WOMEN’S ONLY SWIMMING AND WATER SAFETY

2nd January 2013 - ORGANISATIONS UNITE TO PRESENT INTERNATIONAL WATER SAFETY CONFERENCE 

20th November 2012 - RESEARCH SUGGESTS SWIMMING MAKES CHILDREN SMARTER

19th November 2008 - YMCA SLAMS ISR APPROACH TO SWIM TRAINING

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