Symbolic move to launch swim program in Cronulla
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Sixteen years after the infamous Cronulla race riots, a program to teach surf safety to men from diverse communities was launched at North Cronulla Beach.
Omar Mahmoud and Feroz Sattar formed Swim Brothers in 2019 after a group of men from a mosque in western Sydney embarked on a father-son camping weekend near Forster in which some of the group were swept out to sea after wading into a rip. Luckily, two off-duty lifesavers saved them.
Swim Brothers has partnered with Surf Life Saving NSW to teach water and surf safety to men from diverse backgrounds at North Cronulla Beach.
Last week, the McIver’s Ladies Baths in Sydney came under fire for their (since removed) policy stating “only transgender women who’ve undergone a gender reassignment surgery are allowed entry”. The policy was seemingly in defiance of New South Wales’ anti-discrimintation and sex discrimination acts.
Managed since 1922 by the Randwick and Coogee Ladies Amateur Swimming Club, the baths are a haven for women, and the last remaining women’s-only seawater pool in Australia.
Just over 100 public ocean pools sit on Australia’s rocky coast, most in New South Wales. Segregated baths gave women a place to experience the water, prohibited from most beach access until “continental” (or mixed gender) bathing was introduced in the early 20th century.
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ummer is the season when we like to cool off with a plunge into water. For some, it’s in the local or backyard swimming pool, but others prefer the salt water of the ocean. It’s not only good for our health, but it can also be good for ocean and beach ecologies too.
A Healthy Ocean Plunge
Annual competitive ocean swims, such as the Byron Bay Winter Whales and the Bondi to Bronte, are a mainstay of many Australian coastal towns and city suburbs. Daily and weekly recreational swimming groups are also well established at many of our beaches. In European cultures, immersion in salt water has long been believed to be good for human health and seaside resorts there remain popular.
Why going for a swim in the ocean can be good for you, and for nature sydneysun.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sydneysun.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.