Celebrating Excellence in Water Safety: Watch Around Water Facility of the Year

At the 2025 WA Aquatic Recreation Industry Awards, LIWA Aquatics was proud to recognise two outstanding facilities that have gone above and beyond in promoting child safety through the Watch Around Water program. This award acknowledges facilities that demonstrate leadership in reinforcing active supervision, embedding water safety messaging, and engaging their communities to create safer aquatic environments for young children.

This year, we are delighted to announce the winners:

• Perth Metro Winner:Cannington and Riverton Leisureplex, City of Canning
• Regional Winner:Coorow Aquatic Centre, Shire of Coorow

Both facilities exemplify best practice in water safety education and community engagement, showing how Watch Around Water principles can be successfully integrated into daily operations and broader community life.

Perth Metro Winner: Cannington and Riverton Leisureplex, City of Canning

The City of Canning’s Leisureplex facilities have set a new benchmark for excellence in delivering the Watch Around Water program. Their approach combines innovation, visibility, and personal engagement to ensure the safety message is consistently reinforced across every interaction.

Community Engagement
From weekly social media campaigns and monthly member newsletters to interactive safety weeks and on-deck advocacy, the Leisureplex team works tirelessly to keep families informed and engaged. A dedicated team member is rostered daily to speak directly with patrons during peak times, while community events and outreach stalls extend the safety message well beyond the centre walls.

Use of Promotional Materials
The facilities make highly strategic use of Watch Around Water resources, integrating posters, banners, floor decals, and digital displays throughout high-traffic areas. Beyond the standard rollout, the marketing team enhances these with locally tailored graphics and activities, ensuring that messaging is both highly visible and relevant to the community. A wristband system for children under six – also worn by their guardians – provides a constant, wearable reminder of supervision responsibilities.

Innovative Strategies
The Leisureplex approach is underpinned by comprehensive staff training and data-driven decision-making. Risk hotspots such as whirlpool areas and shallow-to-deep transitions have been addressed with operational changes and infrastructure improvements. Messaging is constantly adapted to reflect seasonal trends and community feedback, making the program both proactive and responsive.

The result is a facility culture where water safety is not just promoted, but fully embedded in daily practice.

Regional Winner: Coorow Aquatic Centre, Shire of Coorow

As a small regional facility, Coorow Aquatic Centre demonstrates how a personalised, community-based approach can deliver outstanding results in water safety education. By embedding Watch Around Water into its programs and culture, the Centre ensures safety is understood, valued, and embraced across its diverse community.

Community Engagement
Clear signage, staff reinforcement, and integration of safety messaging into holiday programs, swim lessons, and community days form the backbone of Coorow’s engagement strategy. The Centre also extends its reach through Shire newsletters, social media, and partnerships with schools, playgroups, and local clubs. With an inclusive approach, staff ensure messages are accessible to all families – from grandparents and culturally diverse communities to visiting backpackers working in the region.

Use of Promotional Materials
Watch Around Water signage is displayed across all key areas of the Centre and complemented by personalised communication. Staff reinforce the messages during interactions with parents and carers, while safety reminders are regularly shared in local media and community events. By pairing official resources with strong local relationships, the Centre ensures messaging resonates in a meaningful way.

Innovative Strategies
Coorow Aquatic Centre has introduced a range of locally tailored initiatives, including a Parent & Child Safety Champions program, interactive story time sessions, and a “Caught Watching” recognition scheme rewarding attentive supervision. WAW-branded wristbands for children under five, social media mini-campaigns, and an annual season-opening event further embed water safety values. These creative, community-driven strategies transform water safety into a shared responsibility that families take pride in.

Recognising Leadership in Safety

The achievements of Cannington and Riverton Leisureplex and Coorow Aquatic Centre highlight the vital role aquatic facilities play in shaping safe behaviours around water. By embedding the principles of the Watch Around Water program, both facilities demonstrate leadership, innovation, and unwavering commitment to child safety.

On behalf of LIWA Aquatics, we congratulate both winners on their well-deserved recognition and thank them for setting an inspiring example of how aquatic facilities can create safer, more aware, and more connected communities.