Here at Swimyourswim (SYS) we are so excited about our partnership with Gladmiral – a charity whose passion is to inspire young people through swimming.  We have just launched our first swim-scheme with them which saw seven young people – two of whom had NEVER been to a swimming pool before – take to the water and start their pool to open water journey.  Here is a report from Sally, one of the SYS team present over the weekend:

People often ask me why I swim and I often give various reasons, but the simple answer is ‘because I can!’ I was very fortunate that when I was growing up I learnt to swim from a very early age. It was one of those things my parents always believed kids should be able to do!

When I’m not swimming, my day job involves working with children whose parents often have different priorities than to teach their children to swim. The majority of the children I work with spend much of their lives learning skills that are often more about survival than fun.  They are often isolated, lacking self-esteem and suffering from neglect, and sometimes don’t have the basics of life provided, you know, the things that you and I might take for granted.

So, when Alistair and Leon told me about Gladmiral and how they were offering free swimming lessons to children from disadvantaged backgrounds I jumped at the chance to get some of young people I work with involved.

Last Sunday, we had our first session with seven children having lots of fun with the SYS coaching team, and it was a joy to watch!

Believe it or not, one of the children did not even know what a swimming pool was prior to the session, but by the end of it every child came out of the water with a huge smile on their face and a whole lot of confidence and new ability.  It was great to witness!

Everyone is looking forward to the next session – you never know, we may just be creating our next generation of open water swimmers!  

Sally