Andrew Jennings

Andrew Jennings is president of Orange Swimmers Club, a community organisation which exists to teach swimming and water safety as well as train swimmers for competition. He is also a delegate to Swimming NSW. The club trains regularly at Orange Ex-Services Club and Kinross Wolaroi pool. His wife Chris is also a coach.

"It's vital, especially here in the country, that children learn to swim. When we came here my wife was appalled at the number of children who couldn’t swim. Coming from the coast, I can't comprehend someone who can't swim.'

I am president of Orange Swimmers Club. The club started nearly 80 years ago. It originally started as a community club, a non-profit, charitable organisation.

Members learn to swim and we have instructors to teach them water safety. Then we progress through different levels of training. We teach competition swimming and we have qualified instructors who take a child to club, district, state, and national levels. We also have adult swimming lessons.

It's vital, especially here in the country, that children learn to swim. When we came here my wife was appalled at the number of children who couldn’t swim. Coming from the coast, I can’t comprehend someone who can't swim.

A public heated pool is absolutely imperative. We don't have enough water space, looking at it from a competitive point of view. The kids out here can't reach their potential unless they can get pool space year-round.

For the last 20 years a group has been trying to get the Olympic Pool covered. The number of people who swim in Orange would warrant it. If we can get the correct pool with the correct competition criteria we can get visitors into the town.

I reckon the progress we've made is great. We’ve had a couple of children from Ethiopia and within a couple of years they've gone on to compete. Our successes include David O'Connell and Sophie Goodhew - they made nationals. Untold numbers made the state and country. And of course Anna Windsor – she's a life member of our swimming club. She started to break records when she was about ten. Joe Wilkins identified her as being something 'out of the box'.