A not-for-profit organisation providing swimming lessons for children and teenagers with a disability will ply their trade on the Far South Coast for the first time.
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Rainbow Club, a network of social swimming clubs throughout Sydney and regional NSW, will begin operating out of the new Bay Pavilions on Sunday, July 24, after a successful Term 2 program in Wollongong earlier this year.
South Coast Development Manager for Rainbow Club, Carla Barnes, said the program would run for the entirety of Term 3, and was open to kids with both intellectual and physical disabilities.
"We're a network of social swimming clubs for children with a disability, and we're an NDIS provider," she said.
"We just opened up last term in Wollongong and we're expanding there for Term 3, we're opening now in Batemans Bay, and we're also hoping to open in Ulladulla.
"We've had demand on the South Coast, so that's where we're looking to expand."
Ms Barnes said Rainbow Club accepted anyone under the age of 18.
"If people are willing to drive to us, we'll absolutely accept their children," she said.
"We provide personalised swimming lessons catered to each child's needs, but we also like to bring them together in a group and have a social aspect to the program.
"There aren't any age limits as such - we have taken on children under the age of three, but that requires teachers who are qualified to train kids that age.
"If we've got someone in Batemans Bay who's 18 and still needs support, we won't knock them back either."
The not-for-profit club's main fundraiser each year is the Murray Rose Malabar Magic Ocean Swim.
CEO of Rainbow Club Catriona Barry said she was excited with the expansion of the program.
"Congratulations to the team at Eurobodalla Shire Council and Aligned Leisure on bringing this fabulous facility to fruition," she said.
"We are delighted that children with a disability will be at the heart of the community from the beginning and that they and their families will be welcomed to the Pavilions from the outset."
The Rainbow Club is now searching for teachers or volunteers wishing to help out in Batemans Bay. If you're interested, click this link.