Children as young as 10 competed alongside Olympic swimmers Michael Klim and Matthew Targett and distance specialists Tammy and John Van Wisse in the Australian Unity Great Australia Day Swim, which was held at the Brighton Pier on Wednesday 26 January 2011. As part of the Junior Dash event, entrants braved the Brighton waves and swam alongside the Brighton Pier for approximately 350 m before swimming ashore and dashing to the finish line in front of a large crowd. Paul Sadler, owner of Paul Sadler Swimland (PSS) and water safety advocate, said PSS strongly believes that it is important to offer children variety in a fun and motivating environment when teaching swimming and water survival skills. “Many people may not know that swimming in a pool is a totally different experience to swimming in open water. Open water swimming takes significantly more energy compared to swimming the same distance in a pool,” Mr Sadler said. “We love the nature of this event. So many kids train and practise their swimming skills in a protected pool environment, whereas this event gives the kids an opportunity to apply their skills in a more challenging open water environment that is appropriately supervised.” “I feel it is appropriate that we encourage our children to participate in the Swim Australia Junior Dash – it is a fun event that will improve their swimming skills and fitness,” he said. The Junior Dash event is targeted at 10 and 11 year olds who have achieved their Swordy 1 km Gold medal, which is part of the Paul Sadler Swimland program. Mr Sadler reiterated, “Only swimmers who have achieved their 1 km swim are invited to participate in this annual event with the support of staff.” The Great Australia Day Swim was a carnival of events. As well as the Junior Dash, it also included a 1.4 km and a 5 km swim that a number of our Staff completed as part of an Annual Challenge Club event in which they where sponsored in order to raise funds for the Swordy Charity Account which donated $50,000 to the Royal Children’s Hospital last year. All proceeds from the event will go toward supporting disadvantaged youth and children through the Smart Kidz Education Support Program, run by Bayside Community Information and Support Service Inc., as well as the 20th Man Fund, founded by Les Twentyman.