Water Wellbeing programmes given a boost by Sport England

Swim England has been awarded almost half a million pounds by Sport England to help encourage more adults to get active.

The organisation’s health and wellbeing team will receive £460,000 over the next two years to fund the rollout and continuous refinement of its Water Wellbeing programmes to support inactive individuals, including those with long-term health conditions.

The funding will allow Swim England to further develop and rollout programmes based on supporting both physical and mental health and wellbeing.

Huge opportunity for swimming

Damian Stevenson, Swim England Insight and Partnerships Director, said: “We welcome this announcement by Sport England and are delighted to receive this additional funding to help tackle inactivity through innovative aquatic programme delivery.

“There is a huge opportunity for swimming and aquatics to play a much more significant role in getting people of all ages and backgrounds to be more active.

“The Water Wellbeing programmes that Sport England are investing in are game-changers for the leisure industry and will showcase swimming pools as health promoting spaces for people living with or at risk of long-term health conditions.

“Over the past few years, Swim England’s Health and Wellbeing team has been at the forefront of creating new insight and working with our partners to develop innovative programmes. With this continued investment we will continue our ambition of delivering national programmes that improve the health of thousands of people over the next few years.”

Sport funding

The funding is part of a £16 million package that has been granted to 10 national governing bodies in total.

Phil Smith, Sport England executive director, said: “Millions of people love sport and take part regularly and we don’t take their commitment for granted.

“Even the most enthusiastic people can sometimes find it hard to maintain the habit, especially when life gets in the way.

“This funding of national governing bodies is to help increase the number of people engaged in sport, through investing in clubs, coaches, facilities, equipment and new ways to play.”