At Fife Sports and Leisure Trust, we believe that staying active is more than just about fitness, it’s about bringing people together and helping everyone feel healthier and happier. With 14 venues across Fife, including 9 with swimming pools, we are proud to create community hubs where people of all ages and backgrounds can connect through physical activity.

Making Swimming Accessible for All

We recently introduced our Club Membership, which provides unlimited access to all venues and facilities across Fife, including swimming pools. Priced at just £30 per month, this membership offers exceptional value. We also offer a concession price for eligible customers, ensuring that everyone can stay active even during peak times.

Recognising the importance of family engagement, our membership options include Mini, Junior, and Teen add-ons, enabling parents to involve their children in activities such as swimming at an affordable rate. This approach provides a cost-effective way for families to stay active together.

Our commitment to affordability is further demonstrated through initiatives such as Quid-a-Kid, funded by Fife Council. This programme allows children to swim for just £1 per session during school holidays. In 2023/24, 20,670 children participated in Quid-a-Kid, generating community savings of £57,876, equating to £1,901,640 in social value.

We also secured funding to offer free swimming lessons to 100 young people across Fife in 2023/24. This year-long programme, supported by Fife Council and Active Schools, identified children most in need and provided them with an opportunity to develop essential swimming skills, promoting inclusivity and equal opportunities, regardless of socio-economic background.

Creating Social Value Through Swimming

Swimming pools play a crucial role in creating social value and promoting community health. In 2023/24, our swimming programmes generated £5 million in social value for the local community, around £97 per person, measured across four key indicators: physical and mental health, subjective wellbeing, individual development, and social and community development.

Key highlights from our social value analysis include:

• £2.47 million generated through subjective wellbeing, demonstrating that swimming significantly improves individuals’ mental and emotional health. 

• £1.37 million in physical and mental health benefits, as swimming helps prevent and manage chronic conditions such as Type 2 diabetes, dementia, and depression. Through swimming, we also reduce the incidence of hip fractures, back pain, and other physical health concerns.

• £1.13 million attributed to social and community development, showing the positive impact swimming has on fostering stronger social connections within communities.   

Our data further reveals that regular participation in swimming reduces the need for GP visits, generating over £82,000 in savings on medical costs, while also contributing to reduced psychotherapy sessions, reinforcing the importance of swimming in improving both physical and mental health.

Award-Winning Lessons: Learn to Swim Provider of the Year

Fife Sports and Leisure Trust is one of 38 local authorities, leisure trusts, and aquatic providers delivering the Scottish Swimming, supported by Scottish Water, Learn to Swim National Framework. The programme has reached approximately 106,000 children across the country, with a target to engage 100,000 more by 2025. Currently, 82,317 children and adults are learning to swim every week, and with over 8,200 participants attending lessons weekly, we contribute nearly 10% to the national total – making us one of the largest providers in Scotland.

We are the only provider in Fife delivering lessons based on pathway, ensuring high-quality instruction across 9 swimming venues and 4 community-use venues in local high schools. Participants in our Learn to Swim programme also receive free access to recreational swimming at our venues. This additional benefit allows learners to enjoy the water more frequently and get the most out of their learning experience.

Inspiring the Next Generation of Swimmers:

Fife Sports and Leisure Trust was named the Scottish Water Learn to Swim Provider of the Year 2023. This award celebrates our success in expanding swimming provision across Fife and our dedication to developing a skilled team of swimming instructors. We take immense pride in creating a generation of safe, confident swimmers who benefit from both water safety and the social and health advantages of swimming.

As part of this award, we were honoured to welcome Duncan Scott, Olympic, World, and Commonwealth champion swimmer and Learn to Swim Ambassador, to Michael Woods Sports and Leisure Centre in April 2024. Duncan led swim sessions for over 100 children, inspiring them to continue their swimming journey.

Promoting Water Safety: Drowning Prevention Week

Each year, Fife Sports and Leisure Trust proudly supports Drowning Prevention Week, an important campaign led by the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK). Children in Fife participate in specially adapted lessons designed to teach the Water Safety Code and what to do in the case of an emergency. These lessons provide vital guidance ahead of the summer holidays, including the importance of floating in cold water and understanding beach flags.

We have run numerous social media campaigns over the years and held activities in our centres to promote water safety awareness. We also host an annual water safety poster competition, where participants have the chance to win 12 months of free swimming lessons.

Our Community Impact:

• Widespread Adult Participation: In 2023/24, 32,467 adults, representing 10.8% of the adult population in Fife, took part in our swimming activities. Of these, 56% swam more than twice a month on average. Nearly one third of all adult swimmers were aged 30-44, while over 25% were older adults aged 60+.

• Youth Engagement: In 2023/24, our venues welcomed 31,373 young swimmers, accounting for 45% of the under-18 population. An impressive 82% of participants swam more than twice a month. Half of the swimmers were aged 5-9, followed closely by those aged 1-4 and 10-14.

• Social Value: Of the £5 million in value generated in 2023/24, subjective wellbeing was the largest contributor at £2.47 million (50% of the total). The remaining value came from physical and mental health (27%), social and community development (23%), and individual development (0.3%).

• Social Value Index Score: Our 2023/24 overall social value index score is 82, placing us in the top quartile when benchmarked against other DataHub sites within the wider sector.

• Award-Winning Programming: In 2023/24, 11,699 unique participants engaged in Learn to Swim activities across our sites. We were honoured to be named Scottish Swimming Learn to Swim Provider of the Year in 2023.

For more information about our venues and swimming lessons, please visit: Swimming – Fife Sports and Leisure Trust (fifeleisure.org.uk)

To find out more about the Seriously Social campaign or the Seriously Social Awards, which support people over profit for social good, connect communities, and help individuals become healthier, happier, and more creative regardless of age or ability, visit: Seriously Social about Public Leisure and Culture.

#SeriouslySocial #Community