#LoveSwimming: It's never too late to learn to swim

21/10/2019

The swimming sector has released the next chapter in the Love Swimming campaign, celebrating the achievements of adults who have conquered a fear of water or simply decided it’s never too late to learn to swim in a bid to inspire others to do the same.

This comes following new statistics from the Swim England brand tracker revealing 14.2 million – one in three of the adult population in England cannot swim one length of a 25m pool.

Among them was the star of our Love Swimming film, Helen Mbaziira, who was keen to learn how to swim after her daughter came into difficulty in a swimming pool and she felt helpless and unable to save her.

Originally from Uganda where swimming lessons were not part of the culture and never really encouraged, the 43-year-old developed a fear of the water after witnessing many drownings. She admitted she was worried what people might think about the fact she was not able to swim.

Helen, who now lives in Oxford and learned to swim as part of the Love Swimming campaign at Didcot Wave Leisure Centre.

To read about the real-life experiences of Helen and our other Love Swimming stories visit personal stories.

Get in the pool

We are encouraging people across the country to #LoveSwimming with us. Simply enter your post code into pool finder below for a list of your nearest swimming pools.