Podcast Interview – Kristy Manton

In this episode I speak with Kristy Manton one of the owners of Sweeney’s Swim School in Altona in Melbourne, Victoria. Kristy started teaching at Sweeny’s Swim School from 16 and after graduating she worked in other facilities where she worked her way up to assistant manager of large-scale aquatic centres.

When it came time for her children to learn to swim Kristy took them back to the where her swim teaching career began and four years ago, she was given the opportunity to become a part owner in the Sweeney’s Swim School.

Kristy achieved her dream of owning her own pool and used the experience she gained in the industry to develop the swim school into a thriving business which emphasis her passion for the industry.

A big lesson Kristy learnt through her career is to have patience with people and staff and for her to have the confidence to jump into the idea of owning her own swim school with her husband. She also mentioned that being able to adapt and change especially in this current climate makes life and business a lot easier.

Kristy’s main personal highlight was purchasing her own swim school and another career highlight was working with a group of Burmese refugee children in a Learn to Swim program where she learnt a number of cultural insights and the program expanded to include adults’ lessons. Through the swimming lessons inspired some of the adult participants become swim teachers and lifeguards themselves helping to expand the aquatic industry.

Kristy has a number of mentors which have helped her through her aquatic career including the founder of Sweeney’s Swim School, Joan Sweeney and centre managers from the other swim schools she worked in over the years. Kristy’s parents and family also play a major role in her life offering advice like, ‘Everyone is replaceable’. Going into business with her husband has given her another level of respect for her husband and has elevated their partnership together.

When looking for new staff Kristy looks for people who have a love for swimming and for people and kids as well. Kristy believes those wanting to work in care giving service role are a great fit for the aquatic industry.

Kristy reminds her staff to remember they are the instructors so they need to take charge of the lesson but to also have the patience to work with children and their parents. She also reminds her younger staff members to have the confidence to take charge and to communicate their instructions through the use of their hands and arms.

Staff who want to learn are also impressive and Kristy encourages her staff to learn from each other as well as to continually learn throughout their career.

Her staff need to be reliable and consistent in their work as well as loving the work you do.

Kristy enjoys having a mix of staff with different communicative styles is great for her business and her clients.

Into the future Kristy believes that her clients are looking for a better-quality swimming lesson as they are more informed through technology and education for the parents is also key to her business.

Once a month Kristy includes a water safety component in her lessons so it becomes second nature for the swimmers and their families which has been a big bonus to one of her families who’s 3 year old child fell into the family pool and was able to float and kick to the pools edge and pull themselves out of the pool. During the water safety sessions Kristy’s staff teach a wide range of water safety skills for different environments as their swim school is near the beach and a large lake.

Kristy believes promoting swimming as a life saving skill which can give people the opportunity to try other water-based activities into the swimmer’s future will be helpful to encourage the public to take part in swimming lessons. She believes children need to have a love for the sport and we have to understand that not all children want to become Olympic swimmers.

One of her previous students used her swimming skills to become a lifeguard and work at the Disney theme parks in USA as a lifeguard.

During Covid-19 the use of technology has taken over as the key way to keep people and businesses connected and communicating. Kristy remembered joining one of the first ASCTA online meetings where she noticed over 100 swim schools where logged in. It was a great opportunity for the industry to connect and swim schools from all areas and backgrounds where able to learn and share ideas. This is something Kristy believes will make a big impact to the aquatic industry and it is a simple idea we can continue to use into the future to connect the industry more often. These group meetings have help Kristy trough the Covid-19 lockdown by offering support and understanding as she was able to connect with people who where in the same position as her.

I would like to thank Kristy Manton for taking the time to share her story with us today and I hope you all learn from her experiences as much as I have.

This episode was recorded during the first few weeks of the Australia wide lockdown so some comments relate to actions during this time period.

Thank you for listening.

Kristy Manton’s Contact Information:

Email: admin@sweeneysswimschool.com.au

Website: https://www.swimminglessonsaltona.com.au/

Katrina van Eyk's Contact Information:

Aquatic Mentors - https://www.aquaticmentors.com.au/

Facebook - Aquatic Mentors

Regional Swim Clinics - www.regionalswimclinics.com.au

Email - info@regionalswimclinics.com.au

Facebook - Regional Swim Clinics