PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Greetings! The Malaysia Swimming Teachers’ Association (MSTA) affiliated to the International Federation Swimming Teachers Association (IFSTA) is founded recently in 2014, somewhere in the 1970’s, there was an attempt to introduce and promote STA programmes in Malaysia but without success. So, finally we are here to serve all Malaysians.
The STA is one of the world’s leading swimming and teaching associations. It is a UK based registered body founded in 1932, its objectives are “the preservation of human life by the teaching of swimming, life swimming and survival techniques”.
The Swimming Teachers’ Association is the world’s leading and most experienced swimming teachers’ organisation and has devised a progressive and comprehensive series of awards covering essential areas of aquatic skills for everyone.
The majority of the awards cover the teaching of children to swim from the age of 3 months upwards which are divided into different sections in order for the teacher as a guide to progress the students through the award scheme.
Drowning is one of the largest causes of accidental death in Malaysia and alarmingly it is on the increase. Therefore, everyone -young and old, should be aware of water safety and learn to swim. Drowning can happen anywhere in a bath-tub, a garden pool, a pond, a mining pool, a river, beach or swimming pool. So safety in and around water is the largest incentive for parents to sign up their children for an STA swimming course and awards. In doing so, parents can be safe in the knowledge that their children will be given the best training in water safety and drowning prevention.
Recently it is learnt that more than 80% of Malaysian school children cannot swim 25 meters what is even more concerning is the fact that most of these children lived in the rural areas. This is also due to lack of public swimming pools or no swimming lessons in the school’s curriculum.
So to overcome the problem, MSTA now can provide the training of professional swimming teacher to promote water safety and swimming skills with awards as well as recognised by many independent bodies and swimming groups worldwide.
Finally, swimming is for FUN, HEALTH and SAFETY. Unlike other training programs, our members are provided with a broad base of skills that set them apart from most others in the swimming world. Swimming is a leisure activity that can be enjoyed by all at any stage of life and that everyone should have basic survival as well as swimming skills. Contact MSTA for further information.
Wee Chye Ghee
President