#10MillionSwims campaign smashes through halfway target

A campaign to encourage people to swim more regularly has smashed through its halfway target.

Swim England and Everyone Active launched the #10MillionSwims initiative at the beginning of the year as part of a new three-year partnership between the two organisations.

By the end of May, a total of 5,727,897 people had been swimming at Everyone Active’s 120 pools across the country.

The campaign aims to create a nation of swimmers and is well on course to beat its ambitious target before the end of the year.

Each month the number of participants has increased.

A total of 1,099,254 went swimming at Everyone Active pools in January and this had increased to 1,195,733 by May.

These numbers have been achieved by introducing new pool initiatives, making pool timetables more accessible and launching a number of online campaigns that raise the profile of swimming as a leisure activity.

Lesley Hill, Swim England’s head of strategic partnerships, said: “It’s great to see so many people have joined in the #10MillionSwims campaign so far.

Perfect activity

“More and more people are realising the many health and social benefits swimming can offer. It’s an activity that the whole family can do together and we hope the monthly figures will continue to rise and we shatter our initial target.

“We want to create a nation of swimmers and initiatives like this are vital to help us achieve that goal.”

Jacqui Tilman, head of swimming at Everyone Active, added: “We’re delighted that so many have got on board with the #10MillionSwims campaign.

“Swimming is the perfect activity for people of all ages and abilities and can be the ideal exercise for individuals who are find it difficult to be active due to to issues with mobility or long-term health conditions.

“As the next part of the #10MillionSwims initiative, we’ve launched a ‘Swimformation’ social media campaign which aims to dispel the myths that prevent many from going swimming and promote the positive benefits of being active in water.  

“We hope this will encourage even more people to visit an Everyone Active pool and help us break our #10MillionSwims target.”

Join the #10MillionSwims campaign

Swim England and Everyone Active’s #10MillionSwims campaign aims to encourage people to swim more regularly during 2019.

Swimming doesn’t just mean going up and down lanes, it includes all pool activity from family fun sessions to diving and aqua aerobics. Share the ways you enjoy the water on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using #10MillionSwims.