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
 

The Phillip Island Aquatic Centre may have just become another step closer. In an Australian first, Goodwill Bills created a way for supporters of the project to contribute to it for free.
 
Peter McMahon from the Phillip Island Aquatic Centre Fund announced in December of last year that if the community could raise $2M then the rest of the funding may be attained from other sources. Mr McMahon now reports “We are delighted to support another fundraising option in 2016, with an initiative that household within our area can get behind. It’s a great chance for us to raise substantial funds for the project” while everyone benefits in the savings.
 
Goodwill Bills is an innovative way to buy electricity, which generates a return to the communities that get behind the scheme, while at the same time saving householders money on their bills.  Goodwill Bills connects customers with better deals, while redirecting the marketing spend of participating retailers to create a donation to the preferred charity of each participating customer.

So far, Goodwill Bills members are saving an average of $436 per year on their energy bills, while at the same time creating up to $64 per year in donations to their preferred cause.
 
Mr McMahon explained how the program works. “Supporters of the Aquatic Centre simply go online to GoodWillBills, register and then select from two nominated energy retailers, it’s easy, and quick”.
 
Goodwill Bills has selected two leading energy retailers: online retailer Click Energy - Australia’s highest rating retail energy provider based on customer satisfaction; and Powershop - Ranked by Greenpeace as Australia’s greenest power company. Both offer market leading deals, and give customers choice on the type of retailer that they want to buy from.
 
While large charities like Amnesty, Beyond Blue and The Reach Foundation have already got on board, the program is open to any charity, including local organisations like the PIACF.
 
Goodwill Bills members get access to some of the best deals in the energy market through retailers willing to support local communities.

Goodwill Bills founder Mark Donaldson said that while the impetus to start the venture was to help raise funds for charity, so far, every Goodwill Bills member had also made a saving on their bill, with some saving as much as $1200 per year. “There are substantial savings available, and the idea of buying energy from a company that will also put something back into their customers’ communities is getting a great response.”
 
“We believe that there is a better way for energy companies to interact with customers. We want to disrupt what they do now, and give them an option to paying companies like i-Select and instead funnel that money back into great causes. It is exciting to see two companies with great pricing get behind this idea”.

“Importantly, there is no contract or exit fees involved so if you are not satisfied, there is no obligation to stay. And customers can double check the savings they are likely to see by either using an online calculator or simply sending us a photo of a recent bill. We’ve developed Goodwill Bills to help grassroots organisations tap into a new source of funding, and we’re thrilled to be able to get behind the Phillip Island Aquatic Centre as part of our first community campaign.”
 
Potential benefit to the Phillip Island community and economy 

With some 14,000 rateable dwellings recorded on Phillip Island/San Remo in 2015, the opportunity is huge. If each of those dwellings switched their energy provider, it would result in total savings of ~$4.6M going back into peoples' pockets based on current average savings rates, and an additional $423,000 donated each year to the PIACF.
 
Don Turner has been a long-time supporter of the Aquatic Centre project.“I’m amazed at the savings that are available, its easy to think that switching is too hard, and people end up paying too much, saving money and helping a project as important as the Aquatic Centre is a fantastic opportunity”.
 
Families wanting to sign up to the campaign, or find out more details about the offer, should visit the website GoodWillBills to register and choose a new energy supplier.
 

Sadly, with the recent drowning at Woolamai Beach, we are reminded of a letter we received when we were compiling our Submission to Bass Coast Shire Council.
This letter is included below which I hope will again enable all residents to get behind our drive to raise money, to allow this very important piece of infrastructure to go ahead, as soon as possible.
We were told when amalgamation of Councils took place, an Aquatic Centre should be built on Phillip Island, when will our Council understand, why this centre is needed.
It is not for any other reason than for better HEALTH and WELLBIENG but also a tool to help SAVE LIVES.
__________________________________________________

Bass Coast Shire Council
76 McBride Avenue
Wonthaggi VIC 3995
Attention Mr Paul Buckley - Chief Executive Officer
SUPPORT FOR AN AQUATIC CENTRE ON PHILLIP ISLAND

Dear Mr Buckley
I write to express the support of Surfing Victoria for Bass Coast Shire to commit to the provision of an Aquatic Centre on Phillip Island.
The benefits of an Aquatic Centre to the Phillip Island for both the permanent and visitor populations would be invaluable in providing for not just the health and well being of the community but also will play a part in public safety.
With the pristine beaches of Phillip Island attracting both surfers and beach goers from not just the island but the state and from around the world the water safety and swimming skills honed at such a facility will play an important part in keeping our community safer.
Yours sincerely
Max Wells
Chief Executive Officer
Surfing Victoria
__________________________________________________
If anyone would like to help us achieve our goal we have established a partnership with the Australian Sports Foundation to raise the vital funds to help build our Aquatic Centre.
Below I show two ways you can deposit your donation, or just look out for members of our committee at various functions, were you can make a donation, purchase a Bumper Sticker or raffle ticket.
For Tax Deductibility
www.asf.org.au/project/phillip-island-aquatic-centre/
For non Tax Deductibility
NAB Cowes BSB 083593, Account No. 560653544.
Unfortunately we CAN’T give you tax deductibility.
(Make sure that you notate your name).