Swim England welcomes new funding for grassroots facilities

Swim England has welcomed the announcement from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) of government funding for grassroots facilities. You can read the announcement here.

The announcement, which covers the delivery of hosting major sporting events also commits “at least £400 million to be invested in new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities in communities across the country”.

Responding to the announcement, Swim England Chief Executive, Andy Salmon, said: “We have long been making the case for the need for investment to deliver a network of sustainable pools for the future and so it is welcome to see this investment from the government.

“In their announcement the government talks of delivering ‘new grassroots facilities that can drive economic growth and inspire people of all ages to get active’.

We know swimming is a huge part of the answer to delivering on those objectives. Swimming remains an incredibly popular activity for people of all ages, but particularly amongst older age groups (two million adults aged 65+ go swimming each year) and those with long term health conditions (17 per cent of adults with three or more health impairments swim each year) – many of whom may struggle to be active out of the water.

It’s therefore important that this investment is directed at the pools and leisure centres needed to support these people.

Swim England are ready to work with the government to maximise the impact of this investment to help inspire people of all ages to get active.