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! 💚
