Fife leading the way in swimming lesson delivery

We are delighted to report our highest number of participants in our aquatic programme, bouncing back from COVID closures by being Scotland’s biggest provider of swimming lessons.

We now have over 6,900 participants in our Learn to Swim programme, exceeding our target by 1.84 per cent five months earlier than anticipated. The Learn to Swim programme delivered in partnership with Scottish Water and Scottish Swimming, the national governing body for swimming, is delivered across Fife at nine of our facilities.

The programme offers people of all ages, from babies to older adults, to get in the water and progress seamlessly through class levels, either building confidence, becoming a competent swimmer, progressing onto club level or learning new disciplines like water polo or Rookie Lifeguard training.

In addition, children benefit from a membership scheme which allows them free recreational swimming in any of trust swimming pools as long as they are enrolled in the Learn to Swim programme.

We saw all of our facilities affected by COVID lockdowns and associated health and safety measures and have only had all of our sites open under near normal conditions since August 9.

Lee Cunningham, aquatics manager for Fife Sports and Leisure Trust, said: “Previously, our highest level of Learn to Swim participation was September 2019, prior to the COVID pandemic – despite the challenges of lockdowns, social distancing and health and safety protocols, we are delighted that so many local people are engaging with the programme and getting back in the water.

“The trust has a long and successful track record of delivering aquatic programmes and since officially launching the Learn to Swim programme with Scottish Swimming in 2016, we have seen a steady increase in participation. It’s fantastic that Fife is leading the way across Scotland in getting so many people engaged with swimming and I’d like to thank trust staff for their hard work.”

Euan Lowe, CEO of Scottish Swimming commented “We are delighted to see so many children back learning to swim in Fife to become confident, competent and safer swimmers as part of our national Learn to Swim Framework in partnership with Scottish Water. The last 18 months has been challenging with pool closures affecting lessons so it’s fantastic to see Fife getting back to capacity earlier than anticipated as swimming is such an essential life skill and highlights the importance of maintaining local access to swimming pools”

Click here for further details on the Learn to Swim programme.