Our Aspirational Recreation Plan (for the large parcel of private land that the Bass Coast Shire Council is currently planning to purchase on Phillip Island) has been produced to show the community of Phillip Island, the Council, the State Government and the State Opposition two things. The first being how much we currently lack in recreational infrastructure, given the published population figures in the 2016 Census, compared to the numbers within the remainder of the Shire.  Secondly, to give the Shire a base on which it could and should produce the necessary site drawings to bid for appropriate funding from all levels of government for the much-needed recreation facilities for Phillip Island.  We need the Shire to produce a Phillip Island recreational Masterplan; our plan could be used by the Shire to develop such a plan.
 
Below are the Shire’s population figures from the 2016 Census, they give an excellent example of why Phillip Island requires an Aquatic Centre plus other improved recreation facilities; 36% of the Shire’s total resident population is in the Phillip Island-San Remo area, with 35% of the 0-19 years age range in the same demographic area.   The resident population of Phillip Island and San Remo has grown by 9.90% (1152) over the last 5 years, compared to only 6.96%(1548) for the rest of the Shire excluding Inverloch.
 
The latest offering from Council’s “Active Bass Coast” tends to favour spending on existing, or on new recreation, facilities around Wonthaggi before other areas of the Shire.  Surely the population figures should largely guide what comes first, or, in Phillip Island’s case, address the lack of any major recreational infrastructure spending since Council amalgamation.  Bass Coast Shire Council has told our Football/Netball Club that, after they improve their rooms during 2018/19, they will need to wait another 20 years before they could move to more appropriate facilities.  Surely, it’s time to consider Phillip Island as a priority.

According to the attached chart, Phillip Island’s population has outgrown its current meagre recreational resources and we require urgent assistance to rectify the problem.
Our Aspirational Recreation Plan gives a good outline of the full range of recreation facilities required.  It has been produced after carefully studying all Bass Coast Council’s Plans and Strategies, plus a number of sporting bodies both in Australia and overseas.
As the fourth highest Tourism Location in Victoria, we can easily see how this helps fit the need to increase tourist numbers, but it comes down to how long we can wait? The Phillip Island Aquatic Centre Fund has been waiting for 24 years - doing everything Council asked us to do, but we are still waiting for an Aquatic Centre.
Surely with State and Federal Government help we can obtain enough money to get started on a recreational plan that would produce vital improvements in good health and wellbeing for our resident base.
As a resident of Phillip Island and the Secretary and Public Officer of the Phillip Island Aquatic Centre Fund Incorporated, I believe our quest fits all the necessary components of needing outside intervention to bring the recreation facilities on Phillip island into the 21st Century.  It is for this reason we would like to see tri-partied (Local, State and Federal Governments) joint funding not of just an Aquatic Centre but of the whole Aspirational Recreation Plan attached to this note.
As a catalyst for the creation of appropriate recreation facilities on Phillip Island, we seek a November 24, 2018 State election commitment from both the Victorian Labor Government and the Victorian Opposition to a minimum of $15 million towards part-funding of an Aquatic Centre. 
 
Yours sincerely,

Peter McMahon
Secretary, Public Officer
Phillip Island Aquatic Centre Fund Inc.

The Phillip Island Aquatic Centre Fund Inc. is about to begin a series of public meetings outlining the checked history of our group, and where we are today. Our first public meeting is to be held in Grantville, in the Recreation Reserve building on the 28th November and everyone is welcome.

Our movement started back in 1991, with many people from all walks of life that could see what was required for Phillip Island and surroundings. Our group’s endeavors started officially in 1999, with the creation of our name and becoming an incorporated entity.
 
Over this protracted time frame, the group had many starts and stops, influenced by a Council not willing to help the process. This has now changed, with a Council aquatic strategy in place, agreeing to two aquatic centres across the Shire, including one on Phillip Island.

We will outline everything in detail to those present at our public meetings.   
 

Come along to the Grantville Recreation Reserve on Tuesday the 28th November at 7.00pm, to be brought up to speed regarding our progress to date.

 If you have any queries or ways to assist in fundraising or committee work please contact:
The Secretary   Tel: Peter McMahon  0418 533 256 or  Post: P.O. Box 808 Cowes VIC 3922  
 

The Phillip Island Aquatic Centre Fund Committee continues to be optimistic about the commencement of an aquatic facility on Phillip Island sooner rather than later – before the next council elections in just over three years.

No doubt readers will have seen the diagram of the proposed elements of the aquatic centre in a recent edition of The Advertiser. This showed a 25 metre lap pool (6 – 8 lanes), a learn to swim pool, a warm water exercise pool (also suitable for hydrotherapy) and a toddler play pool.

Our committee is also thinking big when it comes to future-proofing the centre, to cater for increasing demand over time. We would like to see the leisure centre co-located with the aquatic centre, to keep costs down and allow families access to more facilities at the one time.

Another option that could be considered is an ice-skating rink next door to the pool. The advantage of this is that using modern heat-pump technology, it is possible to take the heat from water to make ice for the skating rink, and transfer that heat into the pools.

We also believe that the lap pool could be actually 27 metres, including a 2-metre pontoon at the end, with the possibility of extending this in the future to a 52-metre pool, with a 2-metre pontoon that can be at one end or in the middle, allowing flexible use.

Our committee has been meeting with council and other interested parties – the schools, swimming club, YMCA and health and medical organisations, through the Phillip Island Aquatic Centre Working Group, to resolve issues of location, design elements etc., and these meetings have been very fruitful so far with a high level of co-operation and common purpose.

Obviously, financing the construction, running and maintenance of facilities such as those listed is a major hurdle. However, the community health and well-being benefits will far out-weigh the costs. Think of our ageing community, our school swimming programs, our pre-schoolers and their need to learn to swim to safely swim and surf our magnificent beaches.

We encourage community members to again get enthusiastic about the project. Come along to our AGM on Tuesday August 29. Your presence you will show your support. Better still, put your hand up to join our committee. You can also donate through our tax-deductible fund with the Australian Sports Foundation. For more information, contact our Secretary Peter McMahon on 0418533256 or read recent updates on this site.

Don Turner                President   PIACF Inc.
 

Back in June 1994, the then Shire of Phillip Island worked with members of our group and the Warley Hospital, to investigate an Aquatic Centre for Phillip Island, mainly around a hydrotherapy pool. I have recently discovered correspondence to and from the two parties above. I even have an outline of design and costings of a similar facility.

These facts were shared with the community and a bigger group was formed, expanded, and is now known as the Phillip Island Aquatic Centre Fund Inc. Many of the founding members have either left the Island, or lost faith of a centre ever being built. Those that remain, can’t believe all these years later that nothing except concept plans have been started and approved by our current Shire.

It was needed back then and is more important today, with the last Census in 2016 showing between Phillip Island & San Remo, 4232 people aged over 60 are permanent residents. Add to that, we have 12,164 private dwellings, which allows for the increase of people within our area at holiday times.
Now we must add the need for all our children going to school, to be able to swim 50mt before entering higher education.  There are 1905 children aged 0-14 years, and 878 children and youth aged 15-24 on the Island. Furthermore, 4627 adults aged 25-59, could also benefit from an Aquatic Centre through a variety of services.
 
What can we do to make what was started officially in 1994 happen, and happen soon?
Our forbearers started it, and we need to get behind the push of the last few years to make it happen.
Words are not enough - we must use every opportunity to make it happen.

What can you do to help?

The 2017 AGM of the Phillip Island Aquatic Centre Fund Inc is to take place on Tuesday 29th August at 7.30pm in the Heritage Centre, 89 Thompson Ave, Cowes, and you are all invited to come along. All positions will be declared vacant and a new team will be established, anyone interested in being part of the committee should contact the Secretary Peter McMahon on 0418 533 256.

The numbers used in this article come from the latest Census in 2016.

Authorised by the Secretary Peter McMahon – Phillip Island Aquatic Centre Fund Inc.  
 

Last week Peter McMahon (Secretary) and Don Turner (President) re-presented to the current council, a presentation given to council in 2015. This is in relation to the site of the future Phillip Island Aquatic Centre and a response to the surprising decision by the current council to not build the centre net to the new medical hub as was intended. More news to come following the council meeting this week and the power point presentation can be viewed by clicking on the following file.

We all know the importance of exercise in our daily lives. For people with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes, swimming may well be the perfect exercise, as it can keep them more active and healthy.  Swimming does not jar the joints like, basketball, jogging, football, soccer or tennis.  Unlike golf or bowling, it keeps you moving for a length of time, rather than having to expend some energy and then rest.  That is important for cardiovascular fitness in that it allows one to pump blood and oxygen more efficiently.  Swimming also exercise both the upper body and the lower body muscles at the same time, something that many other sports do not and can burn from 350 to 420 calories per hour.  It is especially good for those who have numbness or lack of feeling of the feet (due to diabetic neuropathy) as it will do no harm.
 
As with other exercises, swimming makes you feel good by producing endorphins.  Finally, swimming can help diabetics tone their body; they will lose calories and lose weight, help lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and in the process of becoming fit, help to control their weight.  All these are very good reasons to try swimming when someone has diabetes. Being in the water is also calming mentally and physically which can help diabetics more easily cope with the stresses associated with their medical condition.
 
The incidence of diabetes is increasing dramatically in Australian society, particularly as overweight and obesity become more prevalent.  Swimming in a heated indoor pool, available for use in a variety of weather conditions from hot and/or humid, to cold and/or rainy and/or windy and all weathers in between is so convenient and practical, to ameliorate diabetes caused by those conditions.  Convenience and practicality are major facilitators of keeping people exercising once they begin.  As we age, many of us gain weight and can no longer engage in the vigorous sports that we may perhaps have enjoyed; but swimming can provide the vehicle to enable all ages to maintain optimum fitness to the maximum of their ability and health status.  Improved health from swimming is an almost a fail-safe guarantee.
 
This article was produced by members of our committee with research from long suffering Diabetics help from Diabetes Australia & general health providers.
 
 Authorised by: Peter McMahon Secretary PIACF Inc.
 

According to the census of 2011. Phillip Island has 44% of its population in the 50 – 85 + age group.
 
It is an alarming fact that I in 5 Australians suffer from arthritis according to Arthritis Australia (AA).  That body is Australia’s peak arthritis body.  It provides support and information about arthritis, promotes awareness of the challenges faced by people with arthritis, funds research and keeps health professionals informed.  
 
If you have arthritis or at risk of developing a musculoskeletal condition (a disease that affects people’s muscles and bones) you may feel confused about how safe it is to exercise with arthritis.  The answer, according to AA, is that it is perfectly safe to exercise with arthritis and in fact it is beneficial.  Even for those in terrible pain, for whom exercise is the last thing that they want to do, that is exactly what they should be doing.  Staying still will only make joint pain worse, cause muscles to wither and put more strain on the very joints that they need to protect.  Regular and consistent exercise (based on advice from a medical or para-medical practitioner) can help to ‘manage’ arthritis, relieving the pain and inflammation to enable a better quality of life.  The Joint Movement® exercise program was researched and initiated by AA, in conjunction with leading health and fitness experts, in response to the uncertainty people reported about whether exercise would help or worsen arthritis symptoms. 
 
And what about the role of water exercise in ameliorating the symptoms of arthritis?
 
Exercising in warm water is one of the most comfortable and effective ways that a person with arthritis can exercise.  That is because the water supports their body, taking the weight off inflamed and painful joints.  For such classes, the water is heated to 340C, as the warmth helps tight joints and muscles to loosen up and relax, easing any soreness and soothing any pain.
 
The role of the water in such exercises is two-fold: not only does it soothe and support the human body but it also offers resistance to movements, acting a bit like a weight to help strengthen muscles during the exercise.  Under guidance from a physiotherapist, the water can offer as much or as little resistance as one likes; press hard on the water for maximum resistance, press less for less or minimal resistance.  That enables participants to instantly adapt the exercises to suit their individual needs, and means that the exercises can be beneficial for different people with different levels of strength and mobility. 
 
Each class begins with a warm up, followed by a selection of exercises that move through the body to give a full body work-out for overall wellbeing, and ends with a warm-down.  The exercise regime covers the whole body, not just specific joints – it works those joints that are affected by arthritis as well as those that aren’t, acting as a preventative measure as well as treatment.
 
In 2014, the Phillip Island Aquatic Centre Committee presented a Submission to the Bass Coast Shire Council, in order to convince Council that Phillip Island needed to have its own Aquatic Centre.  In May 2014 Council resolved that such an Aquatic Centre was indeed required.  As part of the research for the submission (and included in the submission) the Committee determined that the average age profile of the permanent population of Phillip Island was 5 years older than the average for all Victorian municipalities.  Surely it is not too much of a stretch to propose that the incidence of arthritis in the Island population would therefore also be higher than the State average.  That supposition highlights even more why Phillip Island needs its own Aquatic Centre NOW.
 
This article was a collaboration carried out by members of our committee including sourced from “Arthritis Australia.”
 
Authorized by: Peter McMahon Secretary  PIACF Inc