New year ideal time to learn to swim

The start of the school year is the perfect time to learn to swim – whether you are a child or an adult that never had the opportunity.

That’s the message from swimming teacher Tracy Marsh, who was named the Council’s 2025 Swim Instructor of the Year out of 194 staff in the Swim Education Team.

“We are surrounded by water in New Zealand. There are rivers, lakes and beaches all around us. It’s really, really important to know how to swim.”

Water Safety New Zealand’s aim is for all children to be able to swim 200m by the age of 12.  However, this is not being achieved in Christchurch or nationally.

Tracy, who also carries out some supervisory work, realises that many families face obstacles to learning how to swim – including financial and cultural barriers.

“I work at Matatiki in Hornby and it’s very multi-cultural. A lot of people have moved to New Zealand and have never been exposed to swimming before. And for some families, the cost of lessons is a factor. We want to reduce those barriers.”

The Council aims to keep fees for the Swimsmart learn to swim programme delivered at seven sites across the city as low as possible.

The programme offers lessons for all ages, from babies through to adults. Last year there was a record high of 8107 enrolments in Term 4 of the school year, with the potential for this to increase following the opening of Parakiore in December 2025. 

The Council also delivered its school Swimsafe programme to 71 schools across Canterbury last year, including teaching in some school pools, for a total of 15,499 individual school aged children.  

Since becoming an instructor for the Council in late 2020, Tracy has made sure that her own four children – aged 15, 13, 10 and 7 – have learnt to swim.

“It was a non-negotiable for me. I grew up on the West Coast, in Reefton, and we had an uncovered local pool and I was in the swim club. I got my first job at 16 as a lifeguard at that pool, working after school and at the weekends.

“I’ve always loved water. I’m scared of a lot of things but not water. It’s calming and peaceful, it feels like home. When I was thinking about returning to work after being a stay-at-home mum, I knew the job had to provide work-life balance and it had to be something I loved. It doesn’t feel like a job. I’m living the dream.”

Tracy understands that water can be scary for some adults.

“I teach all ages, including babies, school children and adults. One of the highlights of my career is the first adult that I did a private lesson for. He was scared to get into the water; he was a sinker – which is an actual thing where some people just don’t float.

“Seeing his progress was incredible.”

Tracy says swimming is also the perfect exercise for the elderly, as it is gentle on joints while giving a full body workout.

Find out more about the Council’s learn to swim programme.