This June I am swimming the English Channel with a group of friends who I have met through open water swimming. 

I have loved swimming all of my life, in club competitions, school, and always for pleasure and now swim mainly in open water doing crazy challenges. I don't usually raise money  but swimming the channel has been a long term dream  so it seemed appropriate to use this personal goal as an opportunity to give others the chance to get to love swimming as much as me ( swimming to France remains very optional!)

I am raising money via Swim England for two specific aspects of their work:-

1. The Swim England Learn to Swim Framework and 2. Peers on the Poolside.

Anything you are able to give will be donated equally and very gratefully received.

1. The Swim England Learn to Swim Framework  is about developing confident and competent swimmers through fun and enjoyment. Unfortunately, a large number of young people have missed out on swimming lessons due to Covid, so they are raising funds to provide targeted swimming lessons in areas of low swimming ability. These lessons will not only teach young people to swim but will also provide valuable water safety skills.

I was lucky to learn to swim at a very young age, continue at school and have so many opportunities to enjoy being in the water at home, on holiday & through my club. I would love more children to grown up confident & comfortable in water, which is why this Learn to Swim Framework is so important. Everyone deserves the chance to learn to swim.

2. Peers on the Poolside aims to make it easier for everyone to become a swimming teacher. Swim England remove the cost to the person training and help them find work close to where they live. They encourage local people to take up the opportunity who aren’t usually represented on the poolside, making sure they are aware that it is an achievable option for them e.g. people with disabilities, ethnically diverse groups or those whose financial situation makes it difficult to pay for the training themselves. 

Swim England provide the training to support and guide the applicants through the programme and into a job, give them information and training on how they can encourage others from their community to get involved in swimming, become safer in the water and inspire the swimming teachers of the future.

This makes the training available for everyone, provides role models for local communities, opens up the option of swimming to more people, provides a lifesaving skill and inspires more people to become swimming teachers.

For those who like a statistic - if Swim England can recruit and train 50 people to be swimming teachers, who then work just 8 hours a week, they will each teach 16 000 young people to swim in their first year whilst also being relatable role models in their community. 

I am swimming to France this June for fun, but anything you can spare to help me raise funds for others who simply want to either learn to swim or have a chance to teach would be very gratefully received. 

Thank you, Liz x