Bhubaneswar, Mar 13: Under the aegis of Odisha JSW Swimming High Performance Centre, JSW Sports has commenced the Swim Teacher’s training program in Bhubaneswar.

Led by Indian Olympian, an Arjuna awardee and AUSTSWIM presenter, Nisha Millet, this upskilling training program commenced yesterday and will continue till March 15, equipping 20 coaches of the State with the latest practices of teaching swimming in a fun and safe manner. 

The participants, once certified, will hold the globally recognized AUSTSWIM licence to teach swimming. The coaches will go on to lead the Learn to Swim programs that will be rolled out next month in 8 locations, namely, Bhubaneshwar, Sambalpur, Balangir, Boudh, Sonepur, Angul, Ganjam and Mayurbhanj.

Swimming Matters is facilitating this program and has partnered with Australasian Council for Teaching of Swimming and Water safety (AUSTSWIM) to bring high quality aquatic education programs to India.

Sharath Chandra Belave, Head Coach, Odisha JSW Swimming High Performance Centre, shared, “16 Swim Teachers have been selected by JSW Sports for the 8 districts along with 2 regional heads and 2 additional coaches from KIIT University. Altogether, 20 coaches are undergoing an intensive training program which is a combination of both theoretical modules and supervised training (Practical sessions). The Swim Teachers’ training Program has received a positive response from the participating coaches and it will benefit them immensely.”

The swimming grassroots program will operate alongside the High Performance Centre in a hub and spoke model. Our vision is to thereby create a continuous pipeline of fundamentally good swimmers into the high performance centre, he added.

The AUSTSWIM Presenter, Nisha Millet represented India at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and has the distinction of being the first Indian to achieve the B qualification timings for the Olympics. She received the Arjuna award in 2000. She also runs her own swimming academy, Nisha Millet’s Swimming Academy in Bangalore and is an ambassador for the sport.