Active Manningham has claimed the Swim School of the Year award at the Aquatics and Recreation Victoria Awards.
Active Manningham stood out for the highly sought-after award after an exceptional year of transformation, innovation and community impact.
Aligned Leisure transitioned into management of Manningham facilities in mid-2023, with the team at Active Manningham setting a bold goal for the following year, to raise standards of the swim school and create lasting benefits for families.
It has since seen a 40% increase in school swimming participation and 37.3% in customer satisfaction with learn to swim enrolments also seeing an 11% boost.
Over 100 families also responded to the latest customer survey, a 61% increase in engagement, showing that the community is more invested than ever in their local swim programming.
Swim programming expanded across 2024 with four new programs launched: Aquatic Playgroup, Holiday Acceleration Swim Program (HASP), Pre-squad Stroke Refinement and a Safely Engaging with Water program which includes culturally tailored and gender-specific sessions.
Initiatives like Aquarena Aquatic & Leisure Centre’s “Swim and Win” rewards helped keep children motivated throughout winter, addressing previous barriers to year-round participation.
Manningham Leisure Manager, Shannon Mounsey said that receiving the Aquatic and Recreation Victoria Award was exciting for the entire team and community.
Driven by passion and a commitment to innovation, we have built a team who thrive on connection and a shared purpose.
At Active Manningham, our vision—“Teach everyone in Manningham how to swim”—drives everything we do.
This award reflects our united, passionate team and a community that believes in the life-changing power of swimming.
We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved together, and we are just getting started.
Shannon Mounsey, Manningham Leisure Manager
Active Manningham was also named as a finalist for the Health Club Award, while Cardinia Life was a finalist for the Community Impact Award.
Aligned Leisure is proud to have also had some of its outstanding staff members recognised at the Awards.
The industry awards highlight the efforts of individuals and organisations committed to delivering excellence in leisure and aquatic services across Victoria.
Aligned Leisure had a total of 15 finalist’s recognised across 10 facilities, with their acknowledgment putting them among Victoria’s finest.
Each Aligned Leisure staff member named as a finalist from the ARV Awards are named below.
- Duty Manager of the Year
- Riley Gardiner – Casey Leisure
- Josh Perry – Wodonga Sports & Leisure Centre
- Customer Service Award
- Jeremy Spataru – Cardinia Life
- Emily Burley – Eltham Leisure Centre
- Membership Sales Award
- Nicole Reeves – Wodonga Sports & Leisure Centre
- Pool Lifeguard Award
- Tristan Belfield – Caulfield Aquatics
- Swim Teacher Award – General
- Lucas Heider – Active Manningham
- Susanne Arnold – Casey Leisure
- Swim Teacher Award – Access and Inclusion
- Antonietta Moricca – Casey Leisure
- Emerging Leader Award
- Liam Crawford – Active Manningham
- Personal Trainer/Gym Instructor Award
- Erick Couto – Active Manningham
- Group Exercise Instructor Award
- Sue Hyland – Wodonga Sports & Leisure Centre
- Most Valuable Employee Award
- Shannon Morris – Wodonga Sports & Leisure Centre
