Last week we got to visit Auburn Ruth Everuss Aquatic Centre and meet some of the team. Rami Botani is the Operations Coordinator and has a great story on how he started as a learn to swim participant to developing his career within the aquatic & recreation industry.
Meet Rami:
Rami Botani is originally from Iraq. He immigrated to Australia in 2015 after moving initially from Iraq to Syria then to Lebanon because of the war.
Initially, moving to Australia was very challenging for Rami, as he had to learn a new language and adapt to a new lifestyle and make new friends. In 2018 he applied for and was accepted into a Bachelor of Music at Western Sydney University. He is now in his third year and hopes to graduate soon!
Rami is a keen musician and vocalist. He is a member of a choir and is the main guitar player in the group!
Rami's aquatic and recreation career journey:
In 2018 Rami and his friends from Bankstown Senior College received 5 free Swimming Lessons as part of a program between the school and an organisation called START. This was held at Auburn Ruth Everuss Aquatic Centre. Rami and his friends developed a relationship with the Centre Manager at the time, this meeting ended with a job offer!!!
Rami was told that if he got the qualifications he could start work as a lifeguard at Auburn! A series of meetings and actions took place between Belgravia Leisure, START and Bankstown Senior College and his qualifications were sponsored and jobs secured! This was 2018 and the beginning of his career in Aquatics and Recreation.
Rami is currently the Operations Coordinator at both Auburn Ruth Everuss Aquatic Centre and Wentworthville Memorial Swimming Centre. Both Venues managed on behalf of Cumberland City Council by Belgravia Leisure.
He has come a long way since starting as a Lifeguard and progressing through the ranks to Duty Manager then Operations Supervisor before moving into the Operations Coordinator role this year.
Rami likes the responsibility and ability to work with teams to achieve the best results in terms of safety and experience for the community. He really enjoys working as part of a team and having an impact across multiple venues.
Rami's career advice:
Since starting Rami has discovered how many opportunities and benefits there are for someone looking at developing a career in the industry.
The aquatic and recreation industry offers a range of customer-focused and community-oriented roles that help make a positive impact on people’s lives. Communication, teamwork, customer service, and problem-solving play an important role in the aquatic, community, and recreation industry.
Rami tells his team "If you want to grow and progress nothing beats hard work, training and confidence in yourself."
Auburn Ruth Everuss Aquatic Centre
Auburn Ruth Everuss Aquatic Centre is a multi-activity facility that serves the Lidcombe/Auburn community and surrounding suburbs. It is a state-of-the-art leisure facility that includes an outdoor 50-metre Olympic swimming pool, a 25-metre indoor swimming pool, leisure pool with beach entry, a warm program pool, splash pad and slide as well as a fully equipped health club.
The venue is named after Ruth Everuss an Australian former swimmer who competed in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Italy, Rome. Ruth competed in the women's 4 x 100 metre freestyle relay. At just 16, she helped the women’s 4x100m freestyle team to a silver medal and then won gold in the relay at the 1962 Commonwealth Games. She swam and then later coached at the Auburn pool.
Click here for more venue details.
