Australian Christian College Southlands takes swimming carnival to the Middleton Beach surf for fourth year

The annual swimming carnival for students at Australian Christian College Southlands in Albany looks a bit different from the regular pool and grandstand affair, with students taking to the ocean for a range of aquatic events. The event on Thursday, March 28 marked the school’s fourth year of holding the carnival at Middleton Beach — a decision principal David Ramsay made to ready students for practical scenarios faced in the ocean. “The surf carnival is a great way to prepare students for open-water swimming — a vital skill in our coastal community,” he said. “Additionally, beach lessons and the ACC Surf Lifesaving Carnival help students to develop a greater appreciation and enjoyment of our amazing Albany coastline.” The school believes its carnival is the culmination of land-based physical education lessons that focus on essential surf skills, such as understanding surf conditions and hazards, catching waves and using boards, swimming in the surf, and developing physical fitness. More than 100 students from Years 6-12 battled it out on the sand and in the waves, competing in a range of events such as flag races, open-water swimming, beach sprints, and surf races.