SWIMMING
SWIMMING
M
any thought the idea of offer- ing free swimming to people over the age of 60 and under the age of 16 sounded too
good to be true when the government first announced its plans in 2008. Howev- er, despite critics saying it would just get existing swimmers to swim more, there has been overwhelming support from local authorities and the public since the initiative launched in April last year. Since then, 80 per cent of councils
across England have subscribed to the scheme and government figures show that 8.5 million swims have been enjoyed by the under-16s and five million by senior citizens. The Free Swimming Initiative is part
of the government’s bid to get an ex- tra two million people physically active before the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Running hand in hand with the programme, and acting as a further incentive for councils to take part, is the Capital Modernisation Programme, which made £60m worth of funding available for upgrades to participating pools.
PARTNERSHIP APPROACH
Five government departments have worked together on funding the scheme: the Department of Culture, Media and Sport; the Department of Health; the Department for Work and Pensions; the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for Communities and Local Government. The money from central government
made a substantial contribution to the costs, but local authorities had to find additional funding to make up the shortfall. Most were prepared to do this,
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Once the price issue was removed, those that
swam for fitness benefits visited the pools much more often
Kath Hudson takes a look at the Free Swimming Initiative a year after its launch
either by using their own budgets, or securing money from other partners – such as the health service. This gap in funding stopped some
councils from embracing the scheme. Brentwood Council rejected the offer, saying it would leave a financial shortfall, since Brentwood Centre makes up to £67,000 a year from swimmers in the 60- plus category and more than £200,000 from young people. Basildon Council leader, Malcolm Buckley, branded it an “early election gimmick,” highlight- ing the fact that government funding would only last for two years before the scheme was either stopped or funding found from other areas. The vast majority of English councils
however, decided it was an opportunity worth investing in and many have made it the centrepiece of their active lifestyle
programmes. On 1 April 2009, 258 lo- cal authorities joined the scheme and in September they were given another chance to join, or extend the scheme. To date, an impressive 261 local authorities out of an eligible 326, have joined. All of these local authorities are offering it for the over-60s and 199 offer the scheme to both age groups.
FREE SWIMMING FOR ALL
Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust was ahead of the free swimming uptake – having become the first borough to offer it to the over-60s and the under- 16s in 2005. When the offer of funding was announced, the trust took the op- portunity to offer free swimming to everyone to help tackle obesity and get Wigan active. Additional funding has been provided by Wigan Council; the trust itself and NHS Ashton, Leigh and Wigan as its contribution to the Change- 4Life national campaign. “Price had been a barrier to people
swimming before this initiative,” says Dianne Yates, Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust’s senior active living officer, “so when we offered free sessions the usage shot up – with some families using the parent and toddler sessions up to three times a week.” The trust also witnessed a growing
trend in parents of children who were old enough to swim unsupervised decid- ing to swim themselves – rather than watch. Once the price issue was removed those who swam for fitness visited the pools much more often, which helped to make a positive impact on their health. Free swimming lessons have also been offered to five-to eight-year-olds and this programme will be more wide- spread during the coming year.
Issue 2 2010 © cybertrek 2010
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