Kildare instructor shows it's never too late to learn to swim
The Swim Smooth Ireland group presenting their latest cheque to the RNLI lifeboat crew at Wicklow Harbour.
It's never too late to learn to swim. That's a point which Kilcullen-based swim coach Maxine Strain proves regularly to be true when she trains older people to be comfortable in the water, whether in pools, rivers or open seas.
"It often coincides with a big birthday," she said. "Maybe someone who had a bad experience in the water, which put them off when they were young, and now they've decided it's time they did learn to swim."
Maxine has a pool at her home where she can give private training, and afterwards many of her clients have joined her Swim Smooth Ireland adult group, which operates out of Killashee Hotel's pool and in Wicklow Harbour.
Last week, the group presented a cheque for €14,090 to the RNLI lifeboat crew at Wicklow, bringing to over €46,000 the total raised by them for the volunteer rescue service over the last four years.
The latest donation was the result of a pre-Christmas sponsored swim event at Killashee Hotel, which involved 50 swimmers participating in 5 km or 10 km distances over a period of four hours.
Originally from South Africa, Maxine has lived in Kilcullen for more than two decades and established her own swimming instruction operation, primarily preparing people for open water swimming.
"It could be for open water competitive racing — Ireland has various sea races during the year. And then, obviously, the Liffey Swim, the famous one. I also train triathletes, preparing them for the swim leg of their event, including Iron Man contestants. One of our group is even preparing to swim the English Channel."
Swim Smooth Ireland was established by Maxine in 2020 following a rigorous coach training stint at the Swim Smooth global HQ in Perth, Australia. Growing up in South Africa, she had spent most of her spare time in pools both for leisure and competition, and then became a passionate advocate of open water swimming when she came to live in Ireland.
It's a sector which has grown strongly in recent years. "Certainly during Covid, there was a huge increase in open water interest because we were forced to go outside. So anyone who lived near the coast suddenly took off swimming in the sea."
For both social 'dippers' and others who put their heads down doing distance in the sea, Maxine notes there has also been a developing focus on well-being and wellness.
"You know, there is definite research with regards to the benefit of accessing blue and green spaces, and being outdoors more. So it's not just a physical training thing."
The Swim Smooth Ireland group in Killashee numbers up to 90 each week, and new members are always welcome. For more information, contact Maxine Strain at info@swimsmooth.ie or on their website www.swimsmooth.ie.
