Built on an 80-year legacy of swimming education, innovation and water safety, Carlile Swim has been helping Australians develop lifelong swimming skills since 1946. Today, the organisation operates 33 swim schools across Australia and delivers more than 60,000 swimming lessons every week.
The opening of Carlile Swim at Kingsway follows the recent rebrand of Kirby Swim to Carlile Swim. Founded by Olympic Gold Medallist Bill Kirby and his wife Saskia Kirby, Kirby Swim has been a trusted name for Western Australian families for many years. The rebrand brings together Kirby Swim’s strong local reputation with Carlile Swim’s nationally recognised expertise.
In Western Australia, Kingsway will become Carlile Swim’s sixth centre, joining existing locations in Karrinyup, Claremont, Harrisdale, Mandurah and Melville. Carlile Swim was founded by pioneering swimming educators Forbes and Ursula Carlile, whose work helped shape modern swimming education in Australia. Forbes Carlile was Australia’s first Olympic swimming coach and is widely recognised as the father of modern swimming coaching. Ursula Carlile became thefirst woman to coach Australia at the Olympic Games in 1972 and remains the only woman to have served as Head Coach of the Australian Swimming Team.
Together, Forbes and Ursula introduced many of the innovations that are now standard practice in swimming programs around the world, including lane ropes, pace clocks, circle swimming, interval training, heart rate monitoring, baby and toddler swimming and underwater filming to analyse technique.
Today, Carlile Swim continues the legacy they established through a world-class learn-to-swim program that has been developed and refined by Olympic Gold Medallists, International Swimming Hall of Famers and leading swimming educators. The program teaches correct technique from the very first lesson and supports every stage of a swimmer’s journey, from babiestaking their first splash through to advanced swimmers refining their skills. Every lesson is designed to build confidence, develop strong technique and help children become safer in thewater.
The new Kingsway centre in Madeley will give local families easier access to high-quality swimming lessons close to home while creating new employment opportunities, including Swim Teacher and Customer Service roles. The addition of Carlile Swim further strengthens Kingsway City Shopping Centre’s growing mix of family-focused retailers and services, making the centre an even more convenientdestination for local families.
At Carlile Swim, one philosophy has remained at the heart of the organisation for 80 years:
“To swim well is an asset for life.”
-Forbes Carlile
We look forward to welcoming Carlile Swim to Kingsway City Shopping Centre in 2027 and sharing more updates as we get closer to opening.
Community Update
Construction of the new Carlile Swim centre is now underway. During construction, the existing pedestrian walkway from Old Trafford Avenue will remain temporarily closed. A new pedestrian link between the swim school and the adjacent car park will be delivered as part ofthe development, providing improved pedestrian access once construction is complete. The walkway is expected to reopen in July 2027.