KIRBY SWIM HAS JOINED CARLILE SWIM - LEARN MORE
KIRBY SWIM HAS JOINED CARLILE SWIM - LEARN MORE
Kirby Swim has proudly joined the Carlile Swim Family. New name. Same expert team. World-class swim program. We’re diving into the future – stronger, bolder, and ready to help your family thrive in the water!
This isn’t just a name change, it’s a powerful evolution.
By joining Carlile Swim, we have aligned with a legendary name in Australian and world swimming.
For 80 years, Carlile has led the way in swimming development, pioneering baby and toddler swim education and developing a scientific approach that has produced Olympic champions and world record holders.
Joining Carlile brings together two swim schools with a shared belief in helping children learn to love the water – and connects families with one of the most respected names in Australian and world swimming. It means even stronger support for our program, which leads to better lessons for the children and families we care for.
Carlile has led the way in swimming education for 80 years. They developed many of the teaching methods now used around the country, especially for babies and toddlers, and their approach has helped produce many Olympic champions and world record holders.
The Carlile Swim Team is the number one junior club in Australia. Both swim schools were started by passionate families who believed in helping children learn to love the water. By coming together, we build on that shared spirit and become even stronger.
Carlile’s legacy is truly unparalleled – their swimmers have competed at every Olympic trials since 1948, a record unmatched by any other club team in the world. Forbes Carlile was Australia’s first Olympic Swimming coach, and the only person to coach at an Olympics before competing. He invented the pace clock now seen on pool decks throughout the world and his teaching methods have been copied worldwide. Carlile’s “from babies to Olympians” approach has produced 8 world record holders and more than 50 Australian representatives.
Forbes Carlile pioneered sports science and techniques like circle swimming, lane ropes, goggles and the concept of tapering before events. He and wife Ursula pioneered baby swimming and built the first specialist indoor teaching pool. Together they revolutionised the swimming world and started the industry we are now all in, winning a battle with the International Olympic Committee to do it.
Ursula was a trailblazer for women everywhere – the first female to coach Australia at the Olympics and to this day, the only woman to have been the head coach of the Australian Swimming Team. Forbes and Ursula Carlile are the only husband and wife coaching team in the International Swimming Hall of Fame. They are also in the Hall of Fame at both the US and Australian Swim Schools Associations.
The teachers you know and love remain – they now have more support than ever before. The partnership combines more than 150 years of expertise in swim education to create an even stronger foundation for learning and growth.
For parents, this means access to a broader network of trusted coaches, proven programs, and enhanced support systems – all designed to deliver consistent, high-quality experiences across every stage of a child’s swimming journey.
For swimmers, it opens up new opportunities to progress confidently, with refined techniques, improved facilities, and a shared commitment to safety and skill development.
No. The same booking system and app remain in place, so managing swimming, skills and feedback stays simple. You’ll still find the same people answering calls and at the pool to teach and support your swimmer.
Carlile Swim continues to grow in QLD and NSW with new pools opening in 2025. The newest WA pool at Kingsway is set to open in January 2027.
The Carlile Swim Team won the Australian Age Group champion team title in 2025, beating the dominant St Peters Western Team. Talented swimmers are encouraged to join the Westside Club in WA – an A Grade premiership club with strong links to the Carlile Swim Team – with a vision to extend that into QLD as well.
That said, the core focus remains helping children be safe in and around water, learn to swim well, and discover the joys of swimming. Great swimming technique is a safety skill, but it also allows children to say yes to so many more of life’s opportunities. As Forbes Carlile said, “To swim well is an asset for life.”
Your local centre team is always happy to help – reach out or speak to us in centre.
— Forbes Carlile
We make every swimmer safe, strong, and comfortable in the water, whether they’re taking their first splash as babies or refining competitive strokes. With a proven approach that combines world-class expertise and a caring environment, Carlile helps swimmers reach their full potential so they can swim with confidence for life.
Join Carlile Swim for 30 days. We’re confident your child will feel safer, more assured and well supported in the water in their first four weeks. If not, we’ll refund the cost of your lessons.
