EVERYDAY SWIM SEEKS PIONEERING PILOTS
A £3m Sport England investment is set to change the
face of swimming provision in this country as the Amateur
Swimming Association embarks on its Everyday Swim programme.
Everyday Swim is a pioneering three-year project that will
allow the ASA to determine best practice in engaging different
sectors of society into our pools, with the overall aim of
getting more people swimming more often.
With a pilot project based in each of the nine Government
regions, Everyday Swim initiatives will look into barriers
to participation in swimming and will seek ways of overcoming
them.
Initial project plans vary from focusing on rural areas to
catering for minority ethnic communities in a big city, while
other initiatives may focus on helping non or weak swimmer
parents, or providing alternative pathways for children who
want to stay involved in swimming but not compete. It is also
anticipated that one of the projects will focus on the community
use of a 50-metre pool.
ASA Swimming Activity Manager Kate Sargant is leading the
project and is excited about its potential for getting people
active.
"Everyday Swim has the scale to really test barriers
and move things forward," she said. "By coordinating
the project nationally we will have a clear picture of what
works, and what doesn't, in getting more people swimming.
"This is a groundbreaking initiative and will provide
robust evidence for further development not only in swimming,
but across all sports and physical activity."
ASA Chief Executive David Sparkes believes evidence gathered
through Everyday Swim will help encourage a culture change
within the leisure industry.
"As the nation's biggest participation sport and the
activity most inactive people say they would like to try,
the potential of swimming is huge," he said. "Everyday
Swim will allow us to unlock that potential by bringing about
a real culture change in the way that swimming is delivered."
Everyday Swim ambassador and Olympic gold medallist Duncan
Goodhew is equally excited by this ground-breaking initiative
that will mean more people have access to the health benefits
of swimming.
"Swimming's secret is that it is open to people in ways
that other sports just are not," he said. "Swimming
contributes profoundly in improving the health of our nation,
particularly among those who tend to be inactive.
"Everyday Swim is an extremely significant project as
it allows us to understand exactly why some people avoid swimming
when they know they should swim and say they want to swim.
"Our challenge is to understand the barriers and remove
them so we can get as many people as possible swimming and
involved in pool-based activities"
The ASA is this week writing to local authorities to invite
them to express an interest in hosting a pilot in their region.
Pilots will be announced in April, with interventions starting
in September.
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