Gloucestershire swimming project teaching 'a lifelong skill'

Project organisers hope to break down barriers in swim sports

A project that aims to combat inequality and underrepresentation in aquatic sports has been trialled in Gloucestershire.

Swimmers of Colour is currently teaching 10 women to swim and has nearly 50 people on its waiting list.

Florence Nyasamo-Thomas is the founder of Lives of Colour, which oversees the project.

She said: "We were trying to find a project that would get women on the move."

"What we have seen in feedback from the women is that their health and wellbeing, their fitness and the friendships that have come from this have improved," she added.

Janice Oliver, left, and Florence Nyasamo-Thomas, right, organise and run the project

Ms Nyasamo-Thomas said that through her work, she also wanted to ensure that the black community in Gloucestershire was "visible" and "listened to".

She added: "This is about giving people a lifelong skill. It's about more than just teaching people to swim."

The scheme has been funded by Sport England in partnership with Active Gloucestershire.

According to Sport England's Active Lives Survey prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 95% of black adults and 80% of black children did not participate in swimming activities regularly.

This is compared to 89% of white British adults and 71% of white British children.

The group has nearly 50 people on their waiting list

Claire Meadows said she signed up for Swimmers of Colour so she could join in with her children.

"[The project] has given me the confidence back, now when we go on holiday we can all jump in the water together."

Another participant, Sheba Mimano said: "I am learning to swim because I felt like it was a necessary skill and it allowed me to do things outside of my comfort zone.

"A lot of my work trips are water-orientated. It's allowed me to do things I would never have done before, like jumping off a cliff into water."

Janice Oliver, is the Director of Swim Design Space in Cheltenham and teaches classes for Swimmers of Colour.

Some of the black community in Gloucestershire feel barriers to swim sports, according to Swimmers of Colour

Ms Oliver explained that some people in the black community feel barriers to engaging with swimming sports, especially in terms of underrepresentation.

"I got into swim teaching because I looked around and couldn't see anyone like myself being represented in the swimming world," she said.

"I wanted to change that and I figured for that you need to be in the room. That's my passion."

Both Ms Oliver and Ms Nyasamo-Thomas say they believe Swimmers of Colour can break down those barriers.

They hope to teach at least 300 people to swim in the next five years.