The owners of Russell’s Swim School, Drenched Mini Water Polo and The Sussex Swim School have started a not-for-profit organisation to improve access to swimming, aid progression and inspire more children to stay in the pool.
Co-Founder Russell Clough Said: “We’ve been running Top Up swimming for many years now, in partnership with Windlesham House School. This new organisation aims to expand this community work, increase access and progression not just in swimming lessons, but wider Aquatics.”
Aquatic 2012 CIC has already published a full calendar of activity planned for 2025, including “Girls Into Polo”, an event to encourage more girls to play Water Polo. Girls are currently underrepresented at a 3 to 1 ratio. Worthing Festival of Swimming, which is a free event for children to watch demonstrations and take part in multiple aquatic activities, such as racing, diving, Water Polo, lifesaving and artistic swimming. Aquatic 2012 CIC will also attempt to further their work with schools by raising money with their sponsored swim “Swim For Swimming” where participants will aim for a set distance to swim, raising money for much needed sessions for those who cannot swim and gaining themselves a finishers medal and distance certificate in process – it’s exciting times for swimming in the town.
Co-founder Matthew White said: “Over the next few months, we want to connect with as many schools as possible and how we might improve their current school swimming programmes. This is not just a challenge for Worthing, we think there’s a “one size fits all approach to school swimming” and we want to use our experience and expertise to address that. Helping schools be more efficient, we believe, is absolutely key to helping more children learn to swim proficiently and reversing a cycle of decline in swimming standards. “
If you’re interested in registering for any of our free events, please do visit aquatic2012.org