It was only April of 2022 that Scottish Swimming were allowed fully back in the water - and even back spectating. However, it’s been a full calendar of events and activities since then, at all levels. This year also saw the return of the Learn to Swim programme and membership numbers returning to normal.
Now, the sport can look to the future with even more swimmers enjoying the sport. It’s taken a huge effort from Clubs, volunteers and partners, in pushing the sport beyond the times of restrictions and looking towards a brighter future.
We asked Scottish Swimming to look back on their 2022 ...
International tournaments
It has been an incredibly busy summer for Swimming, with athletes away competing and winning medals at a number of international competitions at both senior and junior level. Obviously, there was a strong focus on a home Commonwealth Games, and Birmingham provided an excellent competition environment at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre for ten days of quality racing and diving. Overall, the Scottish Aquatics team produced some positive performances, delivering thirteen medals and fourteen medallists. Team Scotland had its best performance at a Games out with Glasgow 2014, with Aquatics contributing 25% of the overall medal total of 51.
Improving performance pathways
Athlete journeys are many and varied, but they all start with learning to swim. Learning to swim can take individuals to a number of destinations, whether that be competing at national level competition, moving into coaching, winning on the world stage, or simply having fun, achieving their best and being safe and competent swimmers. The core principles of commitment, on-going development, and enjoying the process apply to everyone, with Clara Kerr, Danny Mabbott, Sam Downie and Holly McGill being great examples of athletes who are products of the full pathway.
Divers Clara and Danny learnt to swim then honed their skills in clubs in Aberdeen and Edinburgh respectively before competing for Scotland at this year’s Commonwealth Games, making finals in their events.
Sam Downie and Holly McGill have also enjoyed breakthrough years, with Sam training in his home programme of East Lothian Swim Team and earning his first senior international caps at the World Para Swimming World Championships in Madeira, before representing Scotland at the Commonwealth Games. A similar story for Heart of Midlothian ASC swimmer Holly, who competed at the European Junior Championships in Romania before her senior debut in Birmingham for Team Scotland.
Creating an inclusive sport
Learning to swim is a life skill and fundamental to gaining lifelong confidence, competence and enjoyment of water. Gaining the ability to stay safe, become healthier or take part in sport, are key reasons to increase the number of people of all ages and abilities learning to swim across Scotland.
#SeeMyAbility is an inclusive programme that encourages children with a disability to learn to swim. Swimming provides the opportunity to learn a life skill whilst interacting and having fun in a group environment. This should be no different for a child with a disability and where possible your child will be included in a class with their peers.
Earlier this year, Scottish Water renewed their partnership with Scottish Swimming to encourage children to be safe and confident in and around water for a further three years through to March 2025, increasing investment and extending the reach of the partnership to include school swimming as well as the existing National Learn to Swim Framework.
Looking to next year
Ensuring more people have the opportunity to learn to swim and develop a lifelong passion for our sport is a key priority. As a life skill, swimming will help children and adults to be safer, confident and competent in water; it opens up a world of water-based opportunities and for many, it will become a crucial ingredient for a happy and healthy lifestyle.
We will continue to support our Leisure Trust, Local Authority and aquatic provider partners to deliver the National Learn to Swim Framework, supported by Scottish Water, and its role in helping more children learn to swim. We will strengthen the programme and support teacher development and recruitment to increase the quality and number of people learning to swim, achieving aquatic competence and progressing to clubs and other water-based sports and opportunities.
School swimming and the opportunity it provides to reach every child, embedding inclusive opportunities and prospects for all children to learn to swim, will have significant impact on creating more swimmers in Scotland and we will develop a National School Swimming Framework to deliver this outcome. We want to ensure people feel safe in and around water and will continue to support the Water Safety Scotland strategy, raising awareness of water safety and emphasising, through our partners, the importance of learning to swim to children, parents and stakeholders.
Find out more
- About Scottish Swimming
- From Swimming on Sport First
