Former All Black Piri Weepu Champions Kids' Swim Lessons

Former All Black Piri Weepu knows that learning to "pop a manu" (New Zealand slang for a cannonball) is a beloved summer tradition, but he's got a more serious message for Kiwi families this year. Kids need to learn how to swim first.

The 42-year-old rugby star, who played 73 times for New Zealand before retiring in 2017, is championing water safety education through his role as ambassador to the Z Manu World Champs. He's speaking from personal experience after teaching himself to swim as a child before finally getting proper lessons at school.

"I was lucky enough that our school finally got a bit of funding to allow us to learn how to swim properly," Weepu said. "It just made things a lot easier."

His timing couldn't be more important. New Zealand recorded 78 drowning deaths in 2025, making it the leading recreational killer in the country. Men over 25 accounted for nearly 70% of those deaths, often overestimating their abilities or skipping basic safety gear like lifejackets.

But there's genuinely good news hidden in those statistics. Kiwis under 25 are drowning at lower rates than ever before, despite making up 31% of the population, they now account for only 16% of drowning deaths.

Glen Scanlon, chief executive of Water Safety NZ, says this dramatic shift comes directly from prevention programs like Water Skills for Life, which teaches kids essential survival skills in pools, rivers, and oceans. Just 20 years ago, young people were the highest risk group.

"Lessons learned young will last a lifetime," Scanlon said, celebrating what formal swim education has accomplished while pushing for even more kids to access these programs.

Weepu will compete in the grand final of the Z Manu World Champs in Auckland next month alongside his niece, Zerenity Mill-Simpson, the current youth female world champion. For his whānau (extended family), doing manus is a cherished tradition, but safety always comes first.

"The uncles show the kids how it's done, but whether on the awa (river) or on the moana (ocean), we try to make sure that the kids are safe first and foremost," he explained.

Why This Inspires

Weepu is using his celebrity status to tackle a problem that once seemed unchangeable. The fact that youth drowning rates have dropped so dramatically proves that education works, that prevention saves lives, and that cultural traditions can thrive alongside safety.

His partnership with Stuff's Life Savings initiative aims to get thousands more children into proper swimming lessons, extending the success story to even more families. Teaching kids to respect and navigate water safely means they get a lifetime of summer fun without the heartbreak.

New Zealand's transformation shows what's possible when communities prioritize prevention over reaction.