Swimming in Australian Culture

As Sydney is a city built around the water, there are many waterways available to its residents, such as beaches, harbors, coves, and rivers. The majority of its suburbs therefore have a public pool or access to an ocean pool.


Swimming is, in fact, a compulsory activity in early education. All schools have an annual swimming carnival.

To that end, it's not surprising that swimming is the most popular sport in Australia for children ages 5-14. It is a part of their school curriculum.

We were fortunate enough to be able to go see the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre (and the pool where the US swimmer Phelps competed in his first Olympic competition at age 15!!) for the NSW State Age Championships which was a very impressive venue that was built for the Olympics when they were held in Sydney in the year 2000.

the competitors warming up