So far, 8.5 million under 16s and five million over 60s have swum for free
Part of Yates’ brief is to work with de-
prived groups within the community to encourage them into the pools. Accord- ing to Yates, this approach has been very successful, with one pool in a deprived area of Wigan seeing a 48 per cent rise in the take-up of swimming. One in five people in Wigan and Leigh are now swimming for free.
TARGETING HARD TO REACH GROUPS
Birmingham City Council is another lo- cal authority that’s ahead of the game, having introduced free swimming to children under the age of 16 living in, or attending school in, Birmingham in 2004. In April 2009, the opportunity was extended to non-residents, 16-year-olds and the over-60s and thanks to extra Pri- mary Care Trust funding, all Birmingham residents can now swim and use gym facilities for free during off peak periods. Free swimming figures for the over-60s and under-16s in Birmingham were the highest in the country from October to December 2009, at 86,319. However, according to Sue Hodg-
kinson, Birmingham City Council’s free swimming project co-ordinator, these
schemes came with their own challeng- es, particularly with the over-60s. “Not only did we want to give easier access to current customers, but we were chal- lenged with encouraging new customers into the pool – whose previous experi- ence with swimming lessons many years ago may have been no more than being pushed into the deep end and made to swim back to the side.” Hodgkinson explains that the tar-
geted marketing used to get this group back into the activity encourages them to take their grandchildren swimming. Once enticed back into the pool, swim- ming teachers have also been available during the over-60s sessions to offer some basic skills and build confidence. People from ethnic groups that do
not encourage swimming are also being targeted and the council is working with women’s groups to introduce single sex swimming sessions. Free swimming les- sons for weak and non swimmers over the age of 11 are also being offered. Barnsley Council, in conjunction with
local leisure operator, Barnsley Pre- mier Leisure, is offering free swimming lessons to families, where at least two members of the family, over 11 years
old, are unable to swim. Leeds has run one of the most successful schemes, with 290,000 free swims having been taken since the programme started. Junior swims were up 34 per cent on the year before and the amount of over-60s who enjoyed a swim is 12 per cent above the national average. Swimming is the UK’s most frequently
participated sport, with 7.63 per cent of the population taking regular dips. Ac- cording to Sport England’s Active People Survey 3, the number of people partici- pating in swimming increased by 57,500 in the last quarter of 2009, however, those targeted by the Free Swimming Ini- tiative fall outside the remit of the survey. The Free Swimming Initiative will run
until the end of March 2011, the end of the government’s current spending pro- gramme. For those who have learned to swim, or have seen health improvements via the programme, a funding extension would be welcomed. However, whether or not councils will be able to keep plug- ging the financial shortfall, especially if no more grants become available, remains to be seen. ●
Kath Hudson is a freelance journalist
Issue 2 2010 © cybertrek 2010
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