Holiday Season
DECEMBER 17 ISSUE

Hi Everyone,

What a year it has been! A challenging time for many as we try to get back into a more “normal” life after the past couple of years of COVID. I have come to realise, as with many things, including learn to swim, or correcting your stroke, it takes time and effort. This year has seen many of our swimmers, challenge themselves, not only to learn the fundamental skills of freestyle and water safety which is hard enough, but to learn more complex skills such as tumble turns, diving, butterfly, breaststroke and plenty more.

I’ve been so heartened this year to see so many of you come out in all weathers to attend your classes, private lessons, or SwimFit sessions. You have been total stars! I’m also delighted to see so many of you practise outside of class and really commit to honing your swimming skills. The numbers of people being promoted has been terrific, with many ending up in SwimFit, and even at Sydney Swimmers, our squad training group. It is a testament to how hard you have worked at your swimming and your dedication to the aquatic world. Not many skills in life come easily, most require practise and commitment. I hope you continue to keep swimming high on your priority list in 2023.

Next year sees some of our old favourites return. Firstly Trish, our lovely instructor who specialises in adult Learn to Swim programs, is returning from Thursday 5th January. She will be taking the Beginner and Beginner 1 classes on Thursday evenings. We are also delighted to announce the return of our specialist Treading Water Classes. They will be commencing from the 5th January too. All the details are below.

At the end of February we will have a wrap up of our inaugural Bath to Beach program, which I’ll be excited to share with you. Hopefully you will be inspired to join the next intake.

We will be closed from the 22nd of December until 5th January for the Festive Season. I wish you and your loved ones a wonderful, safe holiday break and all the very best for 2023. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support throughout this year; it’s been such a pleasure helping each and everyone of you on your swimming journey.

As always, yours in swimming,

Kari Baynes
Director

Photos: Classes at Prince Alfred Park Pool PC: Kari Baynes

Summer Safety – Treading Water

Is treading water something that you just feel like you’ll never get the hang of? You’re not alone! Treading water is a crucial skill to have when spending time in and around the water, and is an important part of learning to swim. If you feel like you need some concentrated time spent on learning and practicing your treading water skills, you’re in luck!

We will be running weekly treading water “masterclass” style sessions, each Thursday from 5:15pm at Prince Alfred Park Pool. They are 45 minute sessions focused on going right back to the fundamentals of treading water, starting with the kick and working up to arms, and tying it all together with the timing. You’ll also learn some survival backstroke and other basic water safety skills.

Our treading water classes are held in the deep end, as well as the middle part of the pool, to help you get comfortable with the deeper water.

With the warm weather not going anywhere for a while, making sure that your water safety skills are up to scratch has never been more important! Grab your spot in these classes by jumping on to our app or by clicking here.

2023 New Classes & Updates

As shown above, our 2023 timetable is set up and ready for bookings- make sure you get in early to guarantee your place in our classes next year!

Trish is back on Thursdays!
Our fan favourite instructor Trish Dwight will be re-joining us for some Thursday evening classes from January next year. This means we’ve been able to add some extra classes through the week – see details below.

New Classes
We’ve added extra Beginner classes on Thursday evenings for 2023, and brought back our Treading Water Intensive sessions on the same night. Beginner 1 classes will run as usual on Thursday nights in 2023.

New Beginner and TW times:
5.15 – 6.00pm – Treading Water Intensive w/ Kari Baynes
7.15 – 7.45pm – Beginner w/ Trish Dwight

Our new Beginner classes are set up to be 30 minute sessions, with only 3 people per class. We’ve made this change to ensure that you can get the most attention from your instructor, and so that you’re not doing too much all in one go! If you are still keen for a longer, 4 person Beginner class, we will still be running our 45 minute Saturday sessions.

Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to hone your water safety skills and stay beach-ready through summer!

Photo: Trish is pictured teaching a class at PAPP earlier this year. PC: Kari Baynes

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Celebrate Your Progress

Another year, another set of achievements to celebrate!

To everyone who has started their swimming journey this year, levelled up or been promoted in classes, or reached a goal and learned new skills we want to say a huge congratulations!

As the end of a year rolls around it can be easy to focus on the things we missed, or to jump straight to next year’s goals and resolutions. We think it’s super important to slow down and spend some time celebrating all milestones we’ve hit through 2022, big or small. If you have a spare 5 minutes today, why not take that time to reflect on your progress this year – did you swim 50m freestyle for the first time, or tread water for one minute? That’s awesome!

Now can also be a great time to evaluate any goals you set earlier in the year and see how they’re going. Here are a few good questions you can ask yourself:

What goals did I achieve? (Nice work!)
What goals did I get close to, or am nearly there?
What goals fell off my radar, and became less important as the year went on?
Looking back, were any of my goals unrealistic, or too easy?

These simple questions can help as we move into the inevitable New Year’s rush for resolutions and a whole new set of challenges. Making sure that our goals are realistic but still challenging can make all the difference during tough times.

And finally, make sure you share your progress and celebrate together! If you’ve reached a goal that you’ve spent a long time working hard on, or you hit a milestone that you didn’t think you could, we want to hear about it! Let us know so we can send a proper congratulations and share with our wonderful swimming community, by emailing us, through our DMs, or even poolside at class!

Photo: A few of our swimmers having a breezy session and a chat! PC: Kari Baynes

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New Swimming Caps!

That’s right, we’ve got a new stock of swimming caps in and ready to go just in time for gifting season! They’re sturdy silicone swim caps in a black base colour, with our Different Strokes Swimming logo printed on both sides. If you need a new swim cap, a second one for extra warmth, or you just want to represent DSS while you’re out there swimming why not grab one!

You can purchase a swim cap either online through the link below, or by getting in touch with the office. Once purchased, we’ll bring the cap to you at your next class, so no need to worry about shipping!

Photos: Showing off our DSS cap in action on a beautiful sunny day! PC: Kari Baynes

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Inspiration Corner

UK Celebrities Take on Swimming Lessons | Everyone Active

British athletics legend and sports expert Colin Jackson and BBC Breakfast TV presenter Naga Munchetty have begun their swimming journey together at the ages of 52 and 44. They took on this challenge publicly as a way to raise awareness around adults learning to swim and to get more of the country into the water!