Swim School at Bunya
Swim School Promises
Be Safe, Be Fair, Be Brave
Be Safe, Be Fair, Be Brave are our school promises. We ask the swimmers to commit to them EVERY time they get into the water.
Every self-kindness, every correction, every request we give can come back to those three promises “Be Safe, Be Fair, Be Brave”.
Our promises make for happy, joyful lessons where teachers don’t have to manage behaviour constantly. They also begin to teach our swimmers that grit, self-patience and self-kindness are just as important as the swim itself.
Meet the Team
Tanya Allan, Principal
Tanya has lectured at QLD Austswim conferences on the importance of understanding dry land competencies and the role of dry land training in stroke development, Aquatic Yoga and the how to care for your body as a swim coach.
In her spare time, Tanya is the Director of a Children’s Cancer Charity Bravery Box, a program which aims to support the social & emotional well-being and mental health of families with a childhood cancer diagnosis.
Miss Kristen
,“That I get to teach swimmers and help them achieve their own goals and overcome any anxiety makes my heart happy. I’m so lucky.”
Kristen’s favourite stroke to teach is backstroke and freestyle. Competitively her stroke was backstroke.
Thing she says the most as a coach – “Swimmers!! Thumb, sneaky, pinky, push!”
When she’s not in the pool, you might find Miss Kristen shopping on the weekends, baking yummy treats, swimming on hot days or spending time with her family.
Miss Mair (Myer)
Mair believes that we should first look at how a child engages with the water – how they move, their physical competence, their confidence – and then adjust our teaching practices for each individual child.
With a deep understanding of difference, Mair is a natural builder of trust and confidence as she helps her swimmers explore their abilities and challenge themselves.
Teaching literally thousands of children to swim over a staggering career, Mair now trains instructors for Austswim with a focus on Infant Aquatics, Access and Inclusion (special needs) and Teacher of Swimming and Water Safety (the foundation course for all qualifications for Austswim)
Miss Amy
Swimming, and water safety have always been a big part of Amy’s life.
After competitively swimming the long distance circuit (200, 400, 800m Freestyle, and for her sins the 200m individual medley) she began coaching in 2006 and instantly fell in love.
Her favourite moment at work is when a child who has been working hard, finally NAILS IT and they light up with pride.
Watching Amy teach is kind of like watching a conductor with an orchestra. It’s a thing of beauty.
Miss Holly
“This job makes me SO happy.”
Holly, like the rest of us, rarely feels like working when we’re in the water with your kids.
Holly is an original Little Big Swimmer, swimming in our squad team back in 2016. She is a born teacher with a teaching voice that says ‘this is the instruction, and it is not negotiable’. Yet, she has an empathetic kindness that is rare to find.
Her favourite stroke to teach is Freestyle and she believes that there is no pain like 200m Butterfly pain.
Nancy
Nancy has been a swim coach for 16 years teaching swim skills from infants to stroke development and squad level.
Coaches who have worked across all development levels of swimming are a gift from the teaching Goddesses. Nancy understands foundations so thoroughly, her swimmers find moving to the next level seamless.
Nancy’s classes are never the same week to week. She has such an enormous library of games, and drills for her swimmers.
Nancy teaches both infant and kindy aquatics at Little Big and she joins the Stroke Development team in the afternoon teaching our school aged swimmers.
Mr Ruari (RooRee)
Ruari is our Junior, a coaches assistant for school aged stroke development
He is single minded in his commitment to his swimming. Rising at 5am for 1.5 hour squad sessions four mornings a week. He is also a gymnast.
His eye for correction in stroke development is well beyond his years, and his creativity in coming up with a solution speaks of hours and hours in squad training.
Ruari’s competitive stroke is short course Freestyle and Breaststroke. He believes that there is no pain like a 200m Butterfly pain.
Float on Over!
If you want your child to love swimming as much as we love teaching, come join us!