ASA ANNOUNCES INITIAL EVERYDAY SWIM PILOTS
The Amateur Swimming Association has named the first seven
pilots to be part of its groundbreaking Everyday Swim initiative.
Everyday Swim is a pioneering national programme, led by
the ASA and funded by Sport England, which aims to look at
the barriers to swimming and provide best practice examples
to affect a culture change across the country and get more
people into our pools, for leisure, fitness and fun.
Easington (North East), Islington (London), Kirklees (Yorkshire
and the Humber), Lewisham (London), Suffolk (East), Telford
and Wrekin (West Midlands) and the Wirral (North West) have
all placed successful expressions of interest and pilots will
be looking to launch this summer.
The successful seven were whittled down from a list of more
than 30 applicants and represent a wide variety of leisure
providers in different communities. Ranging from smaller districts
such as Easington in County Durham to inner-city areas like
Islington and large rural counties such as Suffolk, the chosen
pilots will take place in facilities run by local authorities,
trusts and private providers.
With each pilot focussing on a different aspect, projects
vary from addressing obesity in children and tackling barriers
facing those with disabilities to making swimming a real alternative
to the gym and widening the appeal of swimming to older adults.
Paul Irwin, the Senior Cultural Development Officer at Easington
District Council is looking forward to getting the project
off the ground.
"The District Council and its partners are pleased to
have been chosen as a pilot for the Everyday swim campaign,"
he said. "The pilot will provide an opportunity to demonstrate
how swimming can contribute to improving the health and well
-being of our residents"
Everyday Swim ambassador and Olympic gold medallist Duncan
Goodhew believes the chosen pilots have real potential for
making a difference.
"The pilot areas have embraced the concept of a culture
change in swimming and I am really excited about seeing the
ideas on paper come to life over the coming months,"
he said.
ASA Swimming Activity Manager Kate Sargant highlights the
importance of these pilot projects:
"The selection of pilot areas is just the start of some
pivotal work for swimming," she explained. "Significant
challenges lie ahead for the pilots, but each had a clear
rationale for tackling the issue they have chosen and we are
confident that Everyday Swim can deliver both in the pilot
areas and as a national project.
"We have such strong support from key partners such
as Department of Health, as well as genuine drive from the
top of both Sport England and the ASA, and the commitment
from the pilots is impressive."
Stephen Baddeley, Interim Chief Executive of Sport England,
said:
"Swimming has such great health benefits and we are
delighted to be supporting Everyday Swim as part of our drive
to get the nation more active through sport. The programme
is linked to other Sport England activities, including our
Everyday Sport physical activity campaign, and we look forward
to working closely with the ASA so that we can build on the
lessons learned through the pilots. This will help us understand
better the steps needed to get more people into swimming and
other sports."
Pilot projects will be further developed over the coming
weeks and it is anticipated that project coordinators will
be in post by the summer when the projects will be formally
launched.
ASA Chief Executive David Sparkes invited expressions of
interest in hosting a pilot project in February this year.
"The response has been great," he said. "Clearly
the industry wants to work with the ASA and it is encouraging
that everyone recognises the need to do more to get people
more active and into our pools and provide the culture change
that will keep them coming back.
"The chosen pilots stood out among the proposals we
received, but the ASA will also be looking at ways of working
with all those who have shown such a clear interest in getting
people swimming."
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