Swimming carnivals in New South Wales government schools: traditions and challenges Steve Georgakis International Sports Studies 41 No. 1 (2019) https://doi.org/10.30819/iss.41-1.02     pp: 5-15     2019-05-06

Swimming carnivals in New South Wales government schools: traditions and challenges

Stichworte/keywords: Swimming, school swimming carnivals, water safety education, learnto-swim, Australian sporting culture

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Abstract
This research study investigated the Australian school swimming carnival, an aspect of school education not previously examined despite its prominence in schools, media, community debates and discourses. Swimming carnivals are annual school swimming competition events that have traditionally been a deeply embedded part of Australian sporting culture. Seven hundred and eighty-one (approximately 37%) of New South Wales (NSW) government schools were surveyed to investigate the current organisation and ethos of school swimming carnivals. The relationship between school swimming carnival practices and school type, index of community socio-educational advantage (ICSEA) value, and geographical location were analysed. A number of trends were identified and discussed, and two main themes emerged from the research. The first highlighted that there was a strong link between schools that did not have swimming carnivals and the lack of a learn to swim program. The second identified that heightened concerns about child safety and legal liability was associated with a detrimental effect on the delivery of swimming carnivals in schools.