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Having started out as one of the youngest swimming instructors at the age of 15, Jenny Neate will have been teaching people to swim for 54 years this summer.
Jenny and husband Ron celebrate 22 years of Neate Swim School today (Monday October 29).
Whilst previously working for council at the public pool, Jenny used her already extensive experience to develop a local swim teaching program because at that time the council didn’t have one.
Having set that up, Jenny then decided Goulburn deserved more, and so, with Ron’s support and encouragement, they created their very own private swim school.
“If we'd known how big we'd get we would have put a bigger pool in,” Jenny remarked in reference to the sizeable local demand for swimming lessons.
They have students come from places two hours drive away in all directions, so it’s not just Goulburn locals who need this service.
In terms of establishing this successful local business in 1996, “It was a pretty humble start” recalls Jenny.
“At the time the office was the kitchen bench,” and communication with the outside world was with a waterproof cordless landline phone, “a big yellow thing”. They also had an honesty box for people to put their money in on a card table.
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Having taught since she was a teenager herself, Jenny says “my three kids became instructors in their teens.”
As a small business, “we kept it in the family for a while, then we needed to start employing people.”
The staff are all trained by Jenny and Austswim accredited. Still keeping it partially in the family today, two of them are grandsons Jacob and Callum Emmerton. “They help us with the junior coaching.” Jenny taught their other seven grandchildren as well.
Improving the facilities progressed through time.
“As we developed we put the office in. This was a bedroom,” Jenny said while gesturing towards the area in question. “The foyer was one big room, so we modified that end of the house. Then we put the bathrooms on. We’ve done a lot of improvements.”
The change rooms also got insulated, and they started offering swimming supplies on site, plus “a great coffee machine for parents while they’re waiting.”
They have a very wide variety of students, from babies to adults, and from various backgrounds including some parts of the world with little or no opportunity to learn swimming, as well as students with a disability.
“We start babies from eight weeks. The earlier the better.”
Disability Services Australia come three times a week. “It’s good to see them”. For swimmers with a physical disability there’s a lifter to attach to a submersible wheelchair.
They also have a dedicated change table for their carers to use, and the Neate Ability Program for children with a wide range of disability. The school can subsidise the cost too, plus some people can make use of their NDIS plan.
The other benefit to the swim school is that it’s private. If someone isn’t good with crowds (autistic for instance), or just doesn’t want to learn in public, this is ideal.
As children get better at swimming, they can progress through squad levels.
“We can take kids through to state level with [regards to] their abilities. We concentrate a lot on technique,” Jenny says. “Speed naturally comes once you've got the right technique.”
They also run a swim safety program each school term. The main thing they learn is to be safer around water.