Mako's Swim School

24/09/2026

🦈💚 A NEW CHAPTER FOR MAKO’S & BURRUM SWIMMING CLUB 💚🦈

Mako’s Swim School is incredibly proud to officially announce our partnership with Burrum Swimming Club — a historic local swimming club and an important part of our local swimming community.

We are so proud to see Mako’s Swim School become a feeder pathway into Burrum Swimming Club, creating opportunities for our swimmers to continue their journey into competitive swimming. 🏊‍♂️🌊

And we couldn’t be more proud to have Brad Thurlow leading the way.

Brad has already shown, in such a short time, what an incredible contribution he is to our Mako’s family. His experience, knowledge and genuine passion for developing swimmers are such a valuable addition to our team.

We can’t wait to see what our swimmers achieve and where their swimming journey takes them under Brad’s guidance. 💚

We’re excited for this next chapter and everything the future holds for Mako’s Swim School, Burrum Swimming Club and our swimmers!

👉 Head over to Burrum Swimming Club to read Brad’s full bio and learn more about the incredible experience he brings to our swimming community.

🦈🌊 Let’s MAKO some Waves!

🦈💚 MEET THE COACH — BRAD THURLOW 💚🦈

We are incredibly proud to welcome Brad Thurlow as the new Head Coach of Burrum Swimming Club! 🌊🏊‍♂️

When we talk about building something special at Burrum, it isn't just about swimming lessons, training programs or competition results.

It's about surrounding our swimmers with great people, great coaches and people who genuinely care about helping others grow.

And Brad is exactly that.

🏊‍♂️ OVER FOUR DECADES OF COACHING EXPERIENCE

Brad brings with him an incredible 44+ years of experience in the aquatic industry, with a coaching career spanning junior development through to high-level competitive swimming.

His coaching journey has included roles with Wangaratta Stingrays Swimming Club, Swansea Swim Centre, Taree Torpedoes and Gympie ARC, along with extensive experience in learn-to-swim, lifeguarding, school swimming and aquatic program development.

Most recently, Brad was Head Swim Coach at Gympie ARC, where he was responsible for programming across Bronze, Silver and Gold squad levels, staff mentoring, session delivery, dryland training, meet attendance to support swimmers at carnivals, including Gympie Gold Fins.

Prior to this, Brad was Head Coach of Taree Torpedoes, programming squad levels from Junior through to National, assessing new swimmers, mentoring assistant coaches, developing dryland programs and supporting swimmers at competitions.

He has also held Head Coach responsibilities at Swansea Swim Centre and was Senior Swim Coach with Wangaratta Stingrays, where he developed squad programs from beginner through to advanced levels and mentored developing coaches.

🌎 INTERNATIONAL COACHING EDUCATION

Brad's commitment to learning and professional development extends well beyond Australia.

He holds a Level 4 American Swim Coaching Accreditation and is a Certified Swimming Strength & Conditioning Specialist through the American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA).

He also holds professional memberships with the American Swim Coaches Association, Canadian Swimming Coaches Association and World Swimming Coaches Association, along with a Professional Swim Coach Accreditation through the World Swimming Coaches Association.

This international education brings another valuable dimension to Brad's coaching — combining decades of practical experience with ongoing education in modern athlete development, strength and conditioning and performance coaching.

📚 CONTRIBUTING TO SWIMMING EDUCATION

Brad's contribution to swimming goes beyond the pool deck.

He is a co-author of "Training the Adult Swimmer" for Masters Swimming Australia, alongside Loren Bartley, contributing to resources designed to support coaches working with adult and Masters swimmers.

He also holds an Adult Squad Coach accreditation with Masters Swimming Australia, an Associate Diploma in Sport Sciences, Silver Swim Coaching Accreditation as an Advanced Coach, and is currently continuing his development toward his Gold Performance Coaching Accreditation.

Brad is also an Austswim Teacher of Swimming and Austswim Assessor, with extensions covering Adults, Competitive Strokes and Infants/Preschool.

💚 WHY BRAD IS SUCH A GREAT FIT FOR BURRUM

For us, Brad's qualifications and experience are impressive — but the person behind them is what makes us most excited.

At Burrum Swimming Club, we believe swimming is about developing much more than an athlete.

We want to help our swimmers become confident, resilient, respectful, disciplined and determined people.
We want them to understand that progress doesn't happen overnight.
It comes from consistency, patience, commitment, learning from mistakes, celebrating small wins and continuing to show up.

We believe every swimmer should feel valued, supported and included, whether they're taking their first steps into squad training or working towards competitive goals.

Brad shares that philosophy.

His coaching has always placed importance on individual development, technical improvement, athlete education and helping swimmers reach their own potential.

He understands that every swimmer is different.

Every athlete has their own strengths, challenges, goals and pathway.

And sometimes the most important thing a coach can do isn't simply write the next training set...
It's believe in the swimmer standing in front of them. 💚

🦈 THE NEXT CHAPTER

We are incredibly excited about what Brad's experience, knowledge and passion will bring to Burrum Swimming Club as we continue developing our competitive swimming pathway.

From our developing swimmers through to those chasing bigger goals, Brad brings an incredible depth of knowledge that we know will help our athletes learn, grow and challenge themselves.

But more importantly, we know he'll help them enjoy the journey along the way.

Brad — we are SO proud to have you joining Burrum Swimming Club. 💚

Thank you for bringing your experience, knowledge, passion and genuine care for swimmers to our club.

We can't wait to see what the future holds and to watch the next generation of Burrum swimmers learn, grow, believe in themselves and make some serious waves! 🌊🦈

Welcome to the family, Brad! 💚

21/09/2026

“MUM! DAD! WATCH ME!”
Followed approximately 14 seconds later by…
“MUM! DAD! WATCH ME AGAIN!” 😂

And you better believe they’ll know if you weren’t looking.

The warmer days are on their way and so is the fun season of pool days, beach days and showing off every new trick they’ve learnt. 🌊☀️

Hope you’ve been practising your best “I’M WATCHING!” 😅

16/09/2026

Apparently Safety Week duties don’t start until after coffee. ☕🐥

Edgar was spotted having his morning cuppa with a couple of our local legends today.

Honestly, he’s settled into Mako’s life VERY 'quak'ckly. 😉😂

15/09/2026

Meet our newest team member EDGAR the Duck! 👋 Can your little one(s) spot him around Mako's? 👀

Be sure to say hi to Edgar before your next lesson, cuddles and "quaks" are encouraged! 💛

15/09/2026

The ducks have arrived! 🐥

QUAK for Help Safety Week has begun, and we’ve already collected a LOT of cheeky smiles from around the pool. 😄

Little swimmers, big swimmers, Mums, Dads... everyone’s getting involved and having lots of FUN while quietly learning those life long water safety skills at the same time. 💦🛟🩵

09/09/2026

Hervey Bay kids have a pretty amazing backyard. 🌊☀️

The beach after school, weekends on the water, pool days with friends… and 💯 sand absolutely everywhere. 😅

We truely love seeing our kids comfortable around water and learning the skills to enjoy it all. It's a pretty stunning place to grow up really. ☺️

08/09/2026

Howard, it’s official... we’re ready for our first Term 4 swimmers! 💙🎉

Enrolments are NOW OPEN at Howard State School Pool, and we’d love to have your family in the water with us.

Babies starting their swim journey, kids learning the basics, swimmers working their way through the levels or ready for something more advanced, there is lots happening in the pool this term. 🏊

🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 Families with more than one little swimmer, we have family discounts for you too.

Term 4 is coming up quick, so now is the time to get their spot sorted and secured.

Hit the button below, tell us a little about your swimmer and the Mako's Team take it from there. 🦈

📍 Howard State School Pool | 108 William St, Howard
📱 (07) 4128 9355

07/09/2026

Our Term 3 Safety Week is nearly here, and this time the ducks are taking over the pool. 🐥

It’ll be a fun week for the kids, but there’s plenty of important learning happening amongst all those splashes. We’ll be practising water safety skills in and out of the pool, talking about what to do when you need help, and giving our swimmers the chance to experience different situations.

From Monday 14 Sept, the week is all about helping kids think, react and feel more confident around water, while keeping things fun and supportive along the way.

Keep your eyes out for a few ducks around Mako’s… we have a feeling they might be everywhere. 👀🦆😅

05/09/2026

Happy Father’s Day to our Mako’s Dads. 💙

We see you poolside every week, in the water doing the songs and activities, encouraging one more try, celebrating the wins and making plenty of memories along the way.

To the dads, grandads, stepdads and all the wonderful father figures in our swim families, we hope you feel very loved and appreciated today.

Thank you for being part of our Mako’s family. Have a beautiful Father’s Day. 💙🌊