‘A life force’: the swimming group making waves in western Sydney – a photo essay

Dima Fasi is part of the Swim Sisters, a women’s swimming group that regularly meets at Auburn’s Ruth Everuss Aquatic Centre in western Sydney and also at Clovelly beach in the eastern suburbs. It isn’t a squad or a competitive training group, rather a group of women from diverse backgrounds who swim together regularly. They’re there for exercise, improving their swimming and water safety skills and also for each other.

“It’s all in one – you get your exercise, you’re doing what you love, you’ve got this really good friendship with these girls,” Fasi says. “It becomes like a sisterhood. We’re swapping advice, we’re motivating [and] encouraging one another.”

So when both the pool and the beach were closed in March due to Covid restrictions, it was a shock, says Yusra Metwally, the founder of the group. Their regular catch-ups were cancelled, as were many of the events the group were training for. Not being able to swim regularly was tough, says Fasi. “That was my form of exercise, it was my form of escape, it was my time.”

Fellow member Erika Mustermann agrees:

• Erika Mustermann is the first to arrive at the pool.

In June, the pool reopened but only allowed small groups to swim at a time. Tentatively, Metwally had organised an eight-week swim program to get the women back into their routine. Making it to the end of the eight weeks, without further restrictions, was a relief, she says. It brought into sharp focus just how much they appreciated the group. “It was during that time when nothing was going on, coming out of lockdown, we’d have a swim, [then] go and have a good feed at a nearby Lebanese restaurant. And after we had that feast, we would go and pray at the Auburn mosque. It was a day that we found was about self-care, a real self-care Saturday.”

Metwally started the group in 2016 in western Sydney. Originally called Burkini Babes (a name she came up with after hearing women were banned from wearing the burkini on French beaches), the group is mainly made up of local women from an Islamic background. “When they see the diversity of the group, to see that we are able to have fun when we go for a swim [and that] it’s a very social setting ... that aspect draws people in,” Metwally says.

Being part of the group means different things to the different women who take part, whether it’s swimming lessons, stroke correction, exercise or just somewhere to cool down when it’s hot out west. Tamara Kahil joined to get fit: “I love the water and I need that encouragement, the space and the motivation, so why not?” For Mustermann, who is a long-time swimmer, it was about building her endurance and hopefully training for a marathon swim.

• Yusra Metwally, who started the Swim Sisters

There are benefits beyond the physical though. Swimming has helped improve Asma Fahmi’s mental health. In 2019, she was on a downward spiral after a series of tragic and challenging events that took place while she was living overseas. She returned to Australia for treatment and her doctor convinced her that exercise was as important as taking her medication. Metwally, her friend, encouraged her to join the group. “Swimming became more of a life force for me. It got me out of the house, got me into a routine. It wasn’t the reason why I have recovered since but it’s played a huge role.”

However Swim Sisters is not just a recreational swimming group: the group has bigger ambitions. They are encouraging more women from culturally and linguistically diverse (Cald) groups to learn and improve their swimming skills. According to the 2019 national drowning report released by the Royal Life Saving Society, 27% of drowning deaths in the last 10 years were from those who were born overseas, with 83% of them permanent residents rather than holidaymakers. And a 2015 report found as many as 5% of adult Australians are unable to swim. It was something the women know is prevalent in their community. “A lot of women don’t know how to swim in this area,” says Fahmi. “Many women in this area weren’t brought up with Australian pool culture and consequently haven’t learned how to swim or have the correct techniques.”

• Asma Fahmi says swimming became ‘a life force’ for her

They also know the more local women they encourage to join the group, the more the benefits will ripple out across the community. “The main aim is to promote water safety in a community that has not really had that,” says Fahmi. “We really believe that women have such a huge influence over their families and children, especially in these Cald communities. If you target the women, you’re gonna get the whole family.”

With its four adult pools, two kids’ pools and a splash park, the aquatic centre has become a hub for the group. Many of the women swim in a burkini or a modesty suit and cap, and there are weekly curtained-off women’s-only sessions in one of the smaller pools to encourage those who come from a conservative cultural background to participate. When the group has grant funding, it employs a swim coach to help with training and stroke correction. And they’ve put on health information, nutrition and mental health sessions for the community.

• Dima Fasi at the pool in Auburn

The women agree the support of the group plays an important role in their lives: “Once you get involved in a shared activity, and you build those friendships, and people support you, you know you can rely on people,” says Fahmi. “That even if things get tough [you know] that you can always have a laugh, especially during our training.” Mustermann lost her job during the lockdown but being part of the group helped. “There’s this shared thing, this camaraderie, just with fellow swimmers, and then it doesn’t matter who they are, you want to help them.”

Kahil adds: “We’re all at the same place, doing the same thing, cheering each other on. There was definitely that connection there. And it’s really nice to know that people feel the same way that you do about the water, [they] just experience the same kind of joy.”

Sadly the group’s efforts to create a safe and inclusive environment were politicised in 2017, when Mark Latham took exception to the curtained-off pool. Although there was a brouhaha at the time, there weren’t any long-term impacts and the women’s-only sessions have continued. “Water under the bridge,” Metwally declares. “On a day-to-day level, the negativity doesn’t have an impact because there is so much positivity in the swimming space.” And fortunately none of the women have faced prejudice when they swim in their burkinis at the pool or the beach.

• Tamara Kahil: ‘I love the water and I need that encouragement, the space and the motivation’

Yet for many of them, Islamaphobia can overshadow what should be a very ordinary part of their lives. They speak about the safety of being together, of having each other’s back, and they have a buddy system where they let others know when they are going to the pool, so that those who might not be confident can swim too.

Having a women’s-only space makes them feel more comfortable. As the women point out, it applies equally to those who come from conservative cultural backgrounds or those who have had traumatic experiences. “Sometimes it’s also just about the confidence,” Fahmi says. “Sometimes these male swimmers can be really intimidating.”

• (L-R) Asma Fahmi, Dima Fasi, Yusra Metwally, Tamara Kahil and Erika Mustermann

The group is growing quickly and now has more than 120 members, with additional chapters in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, and a Brisbane version coming soon.

“[We want] to address all the barriers that prevent communities at large from swimming and to connect to the universal joy of swimming everyone experiences underwater,” Metwally says. “Water is a leveller and all our differences dissipate in the water. It doesn’t matter if you’re wearing a little bit of extra material or nothing at all.”