An independent Interim Report released today on the Everyday Swim programme contains significant findings for the sport and activity industries.

The three-year Everyday Swim project set out to attract unprecedented numbers of new, regular swimmers to the pool by bringing about a culture change in the way swimming is delivered to serve the needs of today’s customers. 

The report highlights successes in improving the delivery of swimming. There have been numerous examples of lives being changed by local projects improving access or support at facilities to allow people to take the plunge. 

With one in five people in the UK unable to swim, residents in Suffolk who cannot swim have overcome their fear of the water to learn in later life. 

Many have gone on to encourage other family members and friends to take to the water. The information from diaries kept by the swimmers is being used nationally to help pools improve provision for adult learners.  
 
The report demonstrates that Everyday Swim has achieved some key milestones on the path to culture change, such as developing effective partnerships between neighbouring pool providers, unparalleled investment in workforce development and community engagement, and changes in swimwear and admission policies to remove some of the barriers to swimming. 

Nevertheless, the report makes clear the scale of change still needed, both within the swimming industry, and among those who fund, inform, and regulate it if significant participation increases are to be realised.

Swimming has the highest participation rate of any activity apart from walking with 14% (5.6 million) of adults swimming regularly in England alone. 

It also has the highest level of latent demand with much of the demand coming from groups under-represented in sports participation. 

Swimming has a critical role in driving activity levels up in a way that can impact on the nation’s health and sporting excellence.

The report highlights the need for greater engagement from national and local partners to cut red tape and challenge well established policies and practices to better accommodate the needs and aspirations of the 86% of people who do not swim.

The Sport Industry Research Centre (SIRC) at Sheffield Hallam University was jointly commissioned by the ASA and Sport England to undertake the monitoring and evaluation of Everyday Swim, and staff from SIRC have been working closely with the local pilot areas from the outset.  

The SIRC team have undertaken invaluable secondary analysis of existing data on swimming.

The intelligence that this has provided on swimming participation has informed the direction of the projects on the ground. The Interim Report includes the findings on current participation and approaches needed to ensure success.  

The findings from the report will now be used to inform the remaining months of the project (Everyday Swim in its current format is set to run to December 2008) and to develop the project beyond 2008 to ensure the huge opportunity of Everyday Swim is maximised by the industry and that we see many more lives and communities changed for the better through swimming.   

To view the report, please CLICK HERE.