Credit to: Kaspars Garda
At the climax of Day 2 of the
historic Learn to Swim Conference in Jurmala, Latvia, European Aquatics
announced plans to roll out a 2-year pilot project as the next step of its
Learn to Swim (LTS) strategy.
At least three European member
federations who have highly developed, developed and developing learn to swim
programmes will be approached to work with European Aquatics to:
Evaluate and collect relevant
information on a database
Allow sharing of best practices and
challenges
Evaluate and collect relevant
information on a database
Produce a LTS Manual and
certification system
Raise public and political awareness
on the topic
Communicate the framework and results
to stakeholders and the public
European Aquatics President Antonio
Silva said: “We are aware of the challenges of having so many differences
within Europe, and it’s important to stress that we are just the start of a
long journey.
“But with around 15 per cent of
Europe’s population under the age of 14 and many countries having no
established systems at the moment, European Aquatics has a great opportunity to
build a sustainable system.
“As this conference has shown, there
is a wealth of knowledge and experience in our national federations. By working
together, we can ensure more people are taught to swim and feel safe in the
water.”
Day 2 of the Learn to Swim Conference
also gave the delegates more opportunities for networking and knowledge sharing
as well as the chance to engage on two key topics: how to break down cultural
and social barriers about learning to swim, and how do we ensure we are able to
imbed learn to swim programmes in national school programmes, where the impact
is colossal.
First up was Summaya Mughal, a Senior
BBC TV/Radio Presenter and Journalist, who confronted cultural barriers by
learning how to swim at the age of 28 in 2022, taking on this challenge in
recognition of the number of South Asian women who are unable to swim.
Her explanation of her journey, which
led to an award-winning podcast ‘Brown Gal Can’t Swim,’ where she shares her
experience with the wider public, was emotional and engaging, and underlined
how important it is to find ways to encourage more adults, and those from
currently excluded communities, the chance to learn to swim.
Another excellent presentation saw
Andreas Schleicher, the Director for Education and Skills, and Special Advisor
on Education Policy at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) in Paris, show data, and convincing arguments, why sport and
physical exercise not only contributes to the physical and mental well-being of
schoolchildren but has a direct, positive impact on their academic performance.
As was stressed on the first day by
the athlete guests, the skills acquired from mastering exercise are also life
skills – promoting self-confidence, resilience, discipline, time management and
teamwork.
The final panel discussion of the
conference saw representatives from the federations of England, Wales and
Scotland (UK development), Hungary, Sweden, Estonia and Slovenia share
experiences, challenges and learnings from their own national learn to swim
programmes.
Despite differences of resources,
history and culture, it was clear that many of the basic principles were the
same and that a unified approach to Learn to Swim in Europe was the correct
strategy.
This pioneering event which brought
together member federations, academics, swim teachers, and aquatic
professionals to share knowledge and best practices could not have taken place
without the hard work and dedication of the Latvian Swimming Federation and the
European Aquatics Learn to Swim Commission and staff.
The presentations from the main
auditorium have been recorded and will be posted on the European Aquatics
YouTube channel later this week.
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