Born to Swim - The Cookie Harkin Story

In 1979, the German Sports College in Cologne announced that “babies receiving swimming training from the third month of their lives were more skilful in their movements, more self-confident and recorded higher intelligence values”.  

It was the key finding of a trial involving six treatments on pre-schoolers between 1974 and 1976. 

However, it wasn’t until a self-taught swimming teacher developed a way of teaching infant aquatics in her Melbourne pool that the world began to take notice.

 Born to Swim is the story of Huguette (Cookie) Harkin who has spent 40 years exploring and refining ways for young babies to swim freely and safely while still conscious of the birthing experience.

 “Initially, I looked at what Igor Tchaikovsky was doing in Russia in the late 1970’s and the babies were crying and screaming and I wasn’t happy about that,” she said.

 “Working with my sister Claire, we just experimented with what the babies enjoyed.

 “We’ve always believed that parents are the best teachers. The challenge is to get parents to relax and let babies follow their natural instincts.”

 The 20 minute biopic which premiered at the Heart of Gold International Film Festival in March, traces Cookie’s earliest inspirations to world recognition for her self-directed teaching career.

 The film includes rare footage of Cookie’s controversial “Swimming with Dolphins” program in Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay which began in the late 1980’s.

 For filmmaker, Brendan Guerin, Born to Swim was a way to push his producer skills beyond corporate and commercial work.

 “We discovered Cookie via a brochure at a birthing centre. We took our child Alana soon after she was born and realised that Babyswim was a great subject for a doco.

 “About three years ago, I pitched the Cookie story to the national television broadcasters as part of a series on unorthodox teachers.

 “When they declined, I scaled the idea back to a short bio pic and funded it myself.

 “The challenge then became one of finding a compelling way to tell the story without spending the universe.

 “Soon after that time, a small parcel containing many hours of amateur video footage arrived in the mail from an original participant in the Swimming with Dolphins program.

 “Mostly shot hand-held from a boat, it was a bit wobbly and grainy but that fitted with when and where the story is set. It really captured the spirit of the moment.”

Documentary outline

A short documentary on Australian Cookie Harkin of Babyswim is now complete. Over 19 minutes, Born to Swim tells the story of Cookie from her pioneering teaching days in the 1970’s to today.    

Synopsis: Cookie Harkin has spent 40 years pioneering a safe way to teach young babies to swim, while still conscious of the birthing experience. Despite producing toddlers that appear more physically and mentally adept, she has often met with scepticism from peers, authorities and parents. Interwoven with Cookie’s journey as a pioneering teacher and dolphin researcher, the film includes footage of Cookie's Swimming with Dolphins program in Melbourne's Port Phillip Bay in the late 1980's.

 Target Audience: Teachers, coaches, trainers, students and parents