This entry was posted on Thursday, January 29th, 2015at 1:42 pm by zoe.leahy@activenation.org.uk

Promises To Tackle A Fall In The Number Of People Swimming Nationally Are Welcomed

Promises to tackle a worrying fall nationally in the number of people swimming regularly have been welcomed by Active Nation.

Sport England’s annual Active People Survey measures how many people across England play sport for at least 30 minutes once a week. The latest results show that despite still being the nation’s most popular sport, 245,000 fewer people swam weekly between October 2013 and October 2014, than in the previous year.

The results show that 125,100 fewer people did some kind of sport or exercise once a week for 30 minutes during the same period – with the fall in swimming having a huge impact on these statistics.

ASA Chief Executive, Adam Paker, said: “We are surprised to see such a fall in the number of those swimming regularly. There is now the opportunity for us to work towards a significant improvement and we are determined to seize this.”

Jennie Price, Sport England’s Chief Executive, said: “I am disappointed with these figures, and I’m very concerned about the drop in swimming, which dominates the overall picture.

“If swimming’s figures had been flat, we’d be looking at an overall increase in participation. I am encouraged by the fact that the current leadership at the ASA, and the wider swimming industry, now recognise there’s an issue and want to work together to fix it.”

The results also confirmed what is already known about a gender gap between the number of men and women playing sport regularly. Overall, 1.75 million fewer women than men are active, despite over 70 per cent of 14-40 year-old women wanting to do more.

This is something Sport England hopes its This Girl Can campaign – aimed at giving women more confidence to exercise – can tackle. More than 12 million people have already watched the campaign advert online and hundreds of thousands of women have reacted positively on social media to it.

Reversing earlier trends, team sports saw an increase in numbers playing in the last 12 months – with football, cricket, netball and rugby union all recording growth. Athletics, canoeing, mountaineering, taekwondo and fencing also reported an increase in the number of people taking part.

The data also revealed that the number of young people playing sport regularly has increased.

Looking at the statistics swimming is understandably the main concern. Despite the fall in participation, swimming is still England’s most popular sport by a huge margin – with 2.6 million people taking part weekly. All of these people cannot be wrong!

No matter what your age, weight and physical ability, swimming and water-based activities can provide you with a great workout. In fact, many hail it as the best form of exercise as it’s great for getting fit, shaping up and is low impact.

The key to swimming is the same as any other activity – you need to make it a habit and enjoyable. It’s like riding a bike – you never forget! So pop down to your nearest Active Nation pool and give it a go, we’ll be happy have a chat with you about ideas for adding variety to your pool sessions and tips to keep you motivated.

Visit our website: www.activenation.org.uk/participate and pick up a 3 day guest pass that will entitle you to enjoy 3 FREE days of sport and exercise – including free time in our pools! For more details on the latest Active People Survey results visit: www.sportengland.org