Image copyright EDF Energy / Ed Gilligan Image caption EDF Energy’s Ed Gilligan recently lived in Australia
Having lived in Australia for almost two years, who would be expected to be worried about their swimming pool?
Fortunately for me, EDF Energy has taken the lead on expanding the swimming culture there and I can now say that swimming pools are safer than ever.
Most young people know the risks involved and now there are more courses to fill your swimming need so you can learn new tricks and get to the same level as a professional water polo player.
As a brand for energy, EDF Energy wants you to go further than your power bills. They want you to go higher too. So, it was fantastic that when they came to Australia we set up the first ever EDF Energy swimming academy that gave teachers the opportunity to use the benefits of training using their award-winning electric suits.
Training in the water is becoming much safer with the introduction of the Electric Swimming Suit – a polyester shell with white mesh and more fitted-style head coverings.
Image copyright EDF Energy / Ed Gilligan Image caption EDF Energy believes EDF’s Electric Swimming Suit saves users up to 20% of their life-jacket weight
EDF are the only brand of suit with this advantage – a huge saving for those who only wear a life-jacket on the water.
These suits can extend swimming accuracy and time to stroke gain, assisting you in the transition to mainstroke swimming. The electric suits are also built to protect more sensitive areas of the body that may be prone to cuts or shock.
EDF Energy coach in Australia, Matt Sarginson, used the Electric Swimming Suit in swimming competitions and praised the suits saying: “By simply replacing the conventional side layer with the Electric Sock, we can improve your swimming, by up to 20%.
Image copyright EDF Energy / Ed Gilligan Image caption EDF also helped to create a brand new national swimming roundabout at a popular beach
“The Electric Swimming Suit can be used by swimmers at all ages and can be trained in a variety of ways, including live-scoring for synchronised swimming. This will help swimmers understand how to combine Speedo’s electronic vest with the Electric Sock for maximum results and safety.”
Previously, the Electric Sock was only available in Speedo’s Speedo Sabre swimsuit in only men’s suits. However, this year they have also released their Electric Sock for women’s suits, changing the rules of the game, not to mention the lanes.
In September last year, the Gabbiadon swimming pool in Melbourne was also opened. It is staffed by three lifeguards to attend to the 2,200 swimming enthusiasts who regularly pass through the lanes.
Image copyright EDF Energy / Ed Gilligan Image caption The first EDF Energy swimming academy was launched in Australia in 2016
If you are into competing, then training at an Olympic sized pool is even better. This is the key to any high-performance sport and a swimmer to excel in the pool.
The Gabbiadon swimming pools was founded by EDF Energy’s Managing Director in Australia, Richard Mitchell.
It started life as a three-lane pool. It now has a sizeable community with an average of 3000 local swimmers and more than 100 beach swimmers every weekend, plus the addition of a 400m long pool for pool training to compete against the world class at the Olympic AIS Aquatic Centre and Locog’s National Swimming Centre.
Please support Ed Gilligan and help him launch two more academies in both Australia and the UK – if we find the right school or other organisations to partner with, a school can already train their Year 6 to 11 pupils by entering competitions at the Gabbiadon Swimming Centre