swimming


Building for the future


AS we celebrate our 150th anniversary this year, we’re thrilled that more people are now


enjoying the water and reaping the benefits of aquatic activity. Whether it’s our elite athletes doing us


proud on the international stage in all our sport disciplines, or parents taking their children to a first swimming lesson, there are plenty of reasons why I’m so pleased of the achievements accomplished by Swim England team members. In today’s modern, digital world, there are a


lot of competing demands on people’s leisure time. Although the numbers of adults and children swimming regularly is fantastic, we’re constantly looking to innovate what ‘going swimming’ means. It could be a social session with friends, inflatable assault courses in pools or lakes, our Disney-inspired family fun sessions or health- focused activities to improve people’s physical and mental wellbeing. We also need to ensure the benefits of swimming are understood by everyone, not just from a water safety perspective but in terms of providing a valuable life skill that can be an intrinsic part of a healthy lifestyle. Thanks to our #LoveSwimming campaign, families have been inspired to make memories


by spending more time together, we’ve encouraged kids to swap their consoles for the pool, helped people escape the stresses of busy life and proved how the power of swimming can aid those suffering from long- term health conditions. With this in mind, we’re working more


closely with health professionals to provide clear reasons why swimming referrals, where appropriate, should be central to the growing social prescribing philosophy that looks to steer people away from automatically prescribing drugs. Obviously, to be able to enjoy the water


safely, people need to learn how to swim. We strongly believe all children should leave primary school able to swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25m. Swimming is unique in the fact it’s the only


sport that is included in the national curriculum – yet, according to Swim England’s Annual Parent Survey, almost a quarter of year six pupils are not able to swim 25m by the time they leave school. To help combat this, we’re looking at new


ways to ensure schools without access to a pool can still put on swimming lessons. We’ve purchased a shipping container which will be transformed into a 10x2m mobile pool – opening up learn to swim opportunities for


Innovative thinking and more affordable, sustainable and quicker-to-construct pools will help ensure the future growth of the sport, says Jane Nickerson, CEO of Swim England.


thousands of more youngsters as it travels around the country. It’s imaginative thinking like this that puts


Swim England at the forefront of learn to swim provision and shows how we’re looking to evolve to encourage more people to be able to enjoy the water safely. We’re also developing a facilities strategy


that aims to create more affordable, sustainable and quicker-to-construct pools to build across the country. These will be designed for areas to mitigate


water deprivation and put facilities where they will have the biggest impact on health, social outcomes and community development. While there are still many challenges facing


us, we’re working hard to ensure swimming, diving, synchronised swimming and water polo remains relevant to future generations. The Commonwealth Games in Birmingham


in 2022 will be a key way of inspiring a new wave of aquatic athletes and help create a lasting legacy of volunteers. Building on past successes can help influence the future and we’ll continue to do everything we can to support our clubs, members, partners, workforce and athletes to increase the sport’s visibility. Here’s to the next 150 years!


www.swimming.org/swimengland pactfacilities.co.uk 27


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