We are extremely excited to announce three new Swimming Stars to our team of Ambassadors – James Roberts, Bronte Campbell and Matthew Cowdrey.

The trio join the likes of some of the greatest athletes Australia has ever seen, including Kieren Perkins, Susie O’Neill, Ian Thorpe, Samantha Riley, Trevor Hendy and Lisa Curry who have been UNCLE TOBYS ambassadors in the past, as well as current Ambassadors Grant Hackett, Eamon Sullivan, Emily Seebohm and Cate Campbell.

The swimmers were handpicked by UNCLE TOBYS and current Ambassador Grant Hackett following a search campaign at the recent Australian Swimming Championships in Adelaide.

“It is clear that Australia has an exciting crop of young swimming talent,” said Hackett.

“James, Bronte and Matthew were chosen as new Ambassadors because of what they have achieved already in the pool, and because of what is still to come given their enormous potential.  I’m proud to welcome them on-board and I’m looking forward to mentoring them in the lead up to London and beyond.”

23 year-old Paralympic star Matthew Cowdrey said, “It’s a huge honour to become UNCLE TOBYS’ first Paralympic Ambassador.”

“It gives me a real sense of achievement and recognition to be put in the same group as some of my childhood swim heroes like Kieren Perkins and Susie O’Neill.”

The UNCLE TOBYS team said, “We’re very excited to have James, Matt and Bronte join the UNCLE TOBYS family. UNCLE TOBYS has a proud history of supporting some of Australia’s greatest athletes These young stars share our passion for inspiring and enabling generations of Australians to live healthy and active lifestyles, and they will be part of our family for many years to come”.

UNCLE TOBYS has been proudly supporting Australia’s finest athletes since first sponsoring Lisa Curry in 1983. Since 2009, it has also partnered with Royal Life Saving Society – Australia to help provide free swimming lessons for thousands of underprivileged Aussie kids.

The Swimathon will be hosted in partnership with Royal Life Saving Society – Australia, Belgravia Leisure and Lawnton Aquatic Centre, to raise money for SWIM KIDS Operation 10,000.

The Swimathon is the grand finale to Lawnton Aquatic Centre’s fundraising campaign to raise $5,000 for SWIM KIDS Operation 10,000. The event will include relay races, water safety activities, prizes and giveaways for the whole family.

 SWIM KIDS Operation 10,000 is a fundraising campaign developed by UNCLE TOBYS to help Royal Life Saving Society – Australia raise awareness and funds to provide Swim and Survive Courses for 10,000 children who would otherwise miss out.

What: Lawnton Aquatic Centre Swimathon
Date: Sunday 29 April, 2012
Who: Cate Campbell, Olympic Swimming Star and UNCLE TOBYS Ambassador
Time: 10:00 am – 2:00pm
Location: Lawnton Aquatic Centre, Cnr Gympie and Lawnton Pocket Roads, Lawnton, QLD 4501

For more information about SWIM KIDS Operation 10,000, please visit www.swimkids.com.au or www.facebook.com/swimkidsoz.

This is the third year that the UNCLE TOBYS Factory at Wahgunyah in rural Victoria, has donated Oats to Foodbank as part of the charity’s Collaborative Supply Program. David Flanagan, UNCLE TOBYS Factory Manager said: “We are really happy that we’re able to assist Foodbank in this way and ensure that people who are struggling at the very least have access to a sustaining breakfast.”

Foodbank General Manager, Greg Warren, said: “It is a fact that in virtually every Australian community there are people who are impoverished and in need, whether they are the working poor, single parent families or the elderly. Hunger threatens two million people annually, half of whom are children struggling to succeed at school while dealing with the impact of lack of nutrition.”

“We’re extremely grateful to UNCLE TOBYS who was the first company to partner with us in the Collaborative Supply Program. The Oats are a valuable addition to our provisions as our welfare agencies are keen to be able to provide nutritionally-balanced and filling breakfasts,” Mr Warren said.

Foodbank provides rescued and donated food to over 2,500 charities, community groups and school breakfast programs for distribution to adults and children struggling to provide for themselves either due to emergencies or long term hardship.

The companies which partnered with UNCLE TOBYS in the donation include: Croker Grain, Amcor Cartonboard and Amcor Fibre, SBA Transport and Frances Transport. Additional funding was provided by the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.

If you would like further information regarding this article, please contact our Consumer Services Hotline (in Austrlia) on 1800 025 361.

Emily Seebohm, Eamon Sullivan and Cate Campbell are off the 2012 London Olympic Games !

Eamon Sullivan shrugged off a run with injury to win his way through to a third Olympic Games. He swam a sizzling 21.92sec. to finish second in the  50m freestyle final, behind James Magnussen . He also he finished  4^th in the 100m freestyle final securing himself a spot in the Mens 100m relay, one of the most watched swimming races at the Olympics Games.

Cate Campbell won the 50m freestyle final and came second in the 100m freestyle final qualifying for both events and earning her place in the  womens 100m relay in London.  Such a great outcome for Cate who has struggled for much of the past few years with chronic fatigue syndrome. Cates younger sister Bronte, came in second in the 50m Freestyle final, also qualifying for London. The sisters will become the first siblings for 40 years to represent Australia at an Olympic Games.

Emily Seebohm 19, has also powered to victory in both the 100m and 50m backstroke finals to claim her position on the 2012 London Olympic team.  Emily has also had a tough year last year with a range of illnesses, including a bout of swine flu severely restricted her training. However, these recent results are testament to her hard work and effort in training this year.

Well done on a fantastic result all round guys!

We are delighted to have supported  Emily, Cate & Eamon since January 2009 on their return from the Beijing Olympics, and are so proud to support them further into their journey for GOLD at the 2012 London Olympics. We’ll all be watching and cheering them on.

Who will join the likes of Eamon Sullivan, Emily Seebohm, Cate Campbell and previous ambassadors Ian Thorpe, Susie O’Neill, Kieren Perkins, Samantha Riley, Lisa Curry and Trevor Hendy as the new face of UNCLE TOBYS?

The search begins this week as UNCLE TOBYS continues the tradition with an unconventional ambassador search.

One lucky swimmer will be hand-picked by current UNCLE TOBYS Ambassador Grant Hackett at the Australian Swimming Championships over the next week.

“With such a young, exciting crop of swimmers in Australia, now is the perfect time for UNCLE TOBYS to bolster its swim team for the future”, said Grant Hackett.

“I’m excited to be part of a brand synonymous with Australian sport. UNCLE TOBYS has been a big part of my family for over a decade, so I’m excited to be searching for and helping UNCLE TOBYS choose the next swimming ambassador to join the family”.

UNCLE TOBYS Sponsorship and Digital Communications Manager, Angela Kominatos said, “The brand has been regarded as the pre-eminent sponsor of sport in Australia since first sponsoring Lisa Curry back in 1983”.

 “Swimming Champions have been an integral part of UNCLE TOBYS for over 25 years-helping promote the value of sport and good nutrition to inspire generations of Australians to lead active and healthy lifestyles”.

The new ambassador will be announced following the Olympics Swimming trials.

Despite an increase of swim and survive safety activities since 2002, an in-depth report released by Royal Life Saving Society – Australia shows that youth drowning rates have not dramatically decreased in Australia.

Australians are fed up with these youth drowning rates, with a Newspoll survey conducted last week revealing that 92% of Australians believe that swimming and water safety lessons should be mandatory for all Australian primary school aged children.

Compiled from a study of National Drowning Reports since 2002, the report has revealed that nearly 600 young Australians aged between 0 – 19 have drowned in this timeframe, with 54% of these deaths (318) coming from children aged between just 0 and 4. The in-depth report comes as a new campaign is launched today to help fund swimming lessons for 10,000 less fortunate children.

Whilst there is strong support for mandatory swim lessons, cost appears to be a key factor in preventing people from giving their children lessons, with 80% of the 1200 people surveyed agreeing that the cost of swimming and water safety lessons prevents a lot of people from having them.

This is supported by the Royal Life Saving report which found that children from indigenous, culturally and linguistically diverse and regional and remote areas, as well as those from lower socio-economic and disadvantaged areas  are missing out on learning how to swim and survive.

These children are the focus of SWIM KIDS OPERATION 10,000, a new campaign launched today by UNCLE TOBYS® in association with Royal Life Saving.  In response to the drowning study, UNCLE TOBYS® has developed SWIM KIDS OPERATION 10,000, a fundraising campaign to help raise funds to provide FREE swim and survive lessons for 10,000 less fortunate children in Australia.

Australia will engage with local children’s charities like Barnardos Australia, to help identify the children who will be provided with FREE Swim and Survive lessons.

A custom built swimming pool will occupy Customs House in Sydney for 10,000 minutes to promote the cause and raise funds to help fund much needed swim and survive lessons. For 10,000 minutes, passionate water safety advocate and mother, Melissa Rickwood will be spending her time at the pool and at home, spreading the message and encouraging the community to support the SWIM KIDS OPERATION 10,000 campaign. 

Supporting the campaign is Olympic Legend and Dad of twin toddlers Charlize and Jager, Grant Hackett alongside current swimmer Eamon Sullivan.  Speaking at the SWIM KIDS OPERATION 10,000 launch, UNCLE TOBYS® ambassador Grant Hackett said every Australian child should have the opportunity to learn about swimming and water safety.

‘We don’t want any Aussie kids to miss out on a water education. Swimming and water safety lessons should be accessible for all children.’

Eamon Sullivan, agreed saying, ‘Every child deserves a swimming and water safety education. Being taught how to swim and about water safety is a fundamental right of every Australian child.’

The first child to be given the opportunity to learn to swim and survive through SWIM KIDS Operation 10,000 is six year old Charbel. Grant Hackett assisted with Charbel’s swimming lessons and helped him overcome his fear of water. Royal Life Saving Society – Australia nominated Charbel to be the first recipient of this opportunity via their relationship with Barnardos Australia. 

UNCLE TOBYS® Sponsorship and Digital Communications Manager, Angela Kominatos encouraged Australians to get behind the initiative.  ‘We are proud to be associated with Royal Life Saving and working with them on such an important issue that affects the lives of so many Australian families.  I encourage all Australians to get behind SWIM KIDS OPERATION 10,000 and help us help 10,000 less fortunate kids learn how to swim and survive.’

DONATIONS are tax deductible and can be made at www.swimkids.com.au 

Additional Report Findings:

What is SWIM KIDS?

www.swimkids.com.au
SWIM KIDS is an initiative of UNCLE TOBYS® supported by Royal Life Saving Society – Australia designed to provide parents with the information, knowledge and tools they need to help teach their kids to swim safely. Parents are encouraged to visit www.swimkids.com.au and join other parents on www.facebook.com/swimkidsoz to find out how they can help reduce child drowning.

The site includes:

• A Swim School and Pool Locator of Royal Life Saving Society – Australia associated facilities. Find a Swim and Survive Swim School in your area by submitting your postcode.
• FREE Swim and Survive Water Safety Lessons (video snap shots, featuring Olympic Swimming Champions Grant Hackett and Eamon Sullivan
• Fun and safe water safety games to play with the family
• Water safety and swimming tips for Mum’s and Dad’s wishing to learn more about how to keep their kids water safe

What is Swim and Survive?

Swim and Survive is a comprehensive swimming and water safety initiative of Royal Life Saving- Australia that seeks to increase the swimming and water safety skills of all Australian children in order to prevent drowning and increase participation in safe aquatic activity. The skills and knowledge learnt in the Swim and Survive program offer a level of protection, by providing children with solid foundation skills in swimming, survival and basic rescue.

 How will money raised in SWIM KIDS OPERATION 10,000 be spent?:

Royal Life Saving Society – Australia will utilise the funds to provide FREE or subsidised Swim and Survive lessons to less fortunate children.

As a guide:

• $5 provides a Swim and Survive lesson for a less fortunate child
• $20 provides a child’s Swim Kit of goggles, swim cap and kickboard
• $50 donation provides a 10-week (1 Term) Swim and Survive course for one child
• $300 provides an accreditation course for a Swim and Survive Instructor in a rural or remote location

How will children be selected to receive the FREE swim and survive lessons?

• Royal Life Saving Society – Australia will engage with local children’s charities like Barnardos Australia, to help identify the children who will be provided with FREE Swim and Survive lessons.

Donate Today to help us help provide FREE swim and survive lessons to less fortunate Aussie kids.

• The ABC’s of Back to School
• Packing a Balanced Lunch
• Lunchbox Recipes
• Balance your lunch

Royal Life Saving has made the comments as it launches the 2011 Swim and Survive program which has the full support of UNCLE TOBYS. To get more information, go to  www.swimandsurvive.com.au  or join the conversation with thousands of other parents on facebook www.facebook.com/swimkidsoz.

 Assuming that 50,000 children will leave Primary School without these skills each and every year for the next 10 years, and there is no effective system in the teenage years to fix the problem, that’s 500,000 kids years at extreme risk of drowning.

 A number of UNCLE TOBYS Ambassadors are supporting the Swim and Survive program including Olympic medallists Eamon Sullivan, Emily Seebohm, Grant Hackett and Cate Campbell. 

UNCLE TOBYS Ambassador Eamon Sullivan said, “This partnership is focused on getting more children to have the valuable swimming and water safety skills they need to stay out of trouble.  Swim and Survive is about personal survival and teaching children all kinds of useful water safety skills.”

Royal Life Saving’s CEO Rob Bradley says, “The enormous support from UNCLE TOBYS has allowed us to make huge progress and bring the benefits of this program to the public.  This is a very important program because the safety of children’s lives has to be the highest of priorities.”