A pathway through aquatics can lead towards many different interests. In Pathways to Purpose, the SPARK panel explored the connections between learning to swim, club participation and other aquatic sports. The conversation brought together different perspectives on what continued involvement might look like.
Sam Short’s reflections on enjoying training and maintaining friendships gave the discussion a personal dimension. Alongside those experiences, the panel asked how organisations could work together to make further opportunities visible to children and families.
Begin with the child’s enjoyment
Short described still enjoying training and racing with his teammates. He also spoke about friendships that began when he was young and continued into adulthood. This was his account of what he values in the pathway. It broadened the discussion beyond performance results and reminded the audience that the relationships around an activity can remain important even at a very different stage of participation.
Show the range of opportunities
The panel discussed helping children discover activities beyond a single swimming pathway, including water polo. The point was to open up possibilities while recognising that children have different interests. That creates a useful conversation for swim schools and clubs: how clearly can a family see the options available after its current program? The discussion treated aquatics as a connected space in which different organisations can contribute to continued involvement.
Build connections between organisations
A recurring theme was collaboration. The panel discussed listening to learn-to-swim operators and building gateways that work for both swim schools and clubs. It also considered the role of other aquatic sports in keeping children involved. These were opportunities raised for further work, rather than an announcement of a completed pathway. Their value is in identifying the relationships that would need to exist for a transition to become easier.
Include the practical constraints
The discussion acknowledged that collaboration still has to work within an operating environment. Pool programming and access to space were raised as constraints. Later examples considered different uses of aquatic space and the conditions needed to support them. This keeps the idea grounded: a promising activity needs a workable place in the facility and relationships with the people responsible for its delivery. Enthusiasm is the start of that conversation.
The panel offered a broad view of pathways without prescribing one destination for every child. The common opportunity was to make continued participation more visible through enjoyment, relationships and practical collaboration.
A question to take back to your team
Our editorial reflection:
Which local organisation could help your families see another way to stay involved in aquatics?
Explore the full conversation
Drawn from Pathways to Purpose at SPARK 2026.
Session credit: Panel hosted by Duncan Armstrong. Panel: Sam Short – Olympian Swimmer, Rackley Swim Team, Jon Harker – Managing Director
Hark Attack, Tim Welsford – Chief Executive Officer Water Polo Australia, and Rob Woodhouse – Chief Executive Officer Swimming Australia.
These ideas are paraphrased from the session.
Watch back and learn more by viewing through the SPARK Cvent App on your phone.
Media contact: Luke Daly
Chief Executive Officer, ASSA
Mob: +61 414 086 858
About the Australian Swim Schools Association
The Australian Swim Schools Association (ASSA) is the national body representing swim schools across Australia and New Zealand. Through professional development, industry events and its BOSS (Business of Swim Schools) community, ASSA backs the SwimSchoolers who run, manage and teach in the nation’s swim schools. It champions an industry that teaches people to swim and saves lives.
