Vanuatu Aqua Federation conducts Training of Trainers

Vanuatu Aquatics Federation (VAF) has successfully held its second workshop delivering aqua aerobics to support their ongoing Aqua Mamas programme.

Aqua Mamas is one of the many programmes VAF runs in the community to help create a swimming community, with this programme in particular focused on women to help them improve their physical and mental wellbeing through a series of 3 month “Aqua Challenges”.

Aqua aerobics was first introduced to Vanuatu Aquatics Federation programmes in 2015 with assistance from the Australian programme, Swimming 365.

Now four years later there is an average of 20 Mama’s attending each class at Mele Bay.

Classes were run by two Vanuatu Aquatics Federation’s (VAF) dedicated instructors, Frank Vira and Tracy Elliot (an Australian Volunteer, funded by the Australian Government).

Frank Vira Vanuatu Aquatics Federations (VAF) Senior Development Officer said, “We first started teaching Aqua as we were looking for a fun, low impact way to get more Mama’s and girls involved in aquatics.

“Tracy and I didn’t know much about Aqua as we both came from a swimming background but we were able to come up with lesson plans by looking up videos of aqua exercises on Youtube and adapting it so it would work in the environment we teach in (most Aqua is taught in pools and we teach in the sea).”

Following the success of the popular Mama’s Aqua Programme run by VAF out of Wan Smolbag Theatre’s (WSB) Sports office, Swimming Australia saw great value in arranging for one of Australia’s top aqua aerobics instructors, Claire Barker- Hemmings, to come and run a workshop on Aqua Aerobics.

Claire is an international training specialist for the Aquatic Exercise Association (AEA) who has been delivering the AEA certification in Australia for a number of years.

 

Photo supplied Caption: Participants at the workshop

 

     

Author: 
Tensly Sumbe