Why swimming lessons are for adults too
Why learn to swim as an adult?
Swim England estimates that 14.2 million adults in England cannot swim 25 metres – this equates to approximately one in three.
Children learn to swim at school these days as part of the national curriculum, but many adults have never had this opportunity.
Adults have different motivations for learning to swim. For example, some want to be able to play in the water with their children while others want to overcome a fear they’ve had for years.
We need to communicate how great it can feel to swim with your children or grandchildren.
Swimming is such a valuable life skill too – it is a skill that one day might save your life or the life of a loved one.
For anyone taking the plunge, swimming provides huge rewards.
Teaching adults to swim
I love to teach swimming whenever I can outside of my day job running aquatics at Serco Leisure.
I recently got to meet an incredible gentleman who was 80 years young. He explained how he had nearly drowned in the sea as a young boy and hadn’t been back in the sea or a pool for more than 70 years. He had put learning to swim and finally conquering his fear on his bucket list. We had an incredible hour together.
He was shaking with fear at the start of the lesson, but was independently floating and kicking on a noodle by the end. His smiling face will stay with me forever.
I was really affected by that hour, and I am now extra determined to get more adults learning to swim. We have 14 million people out there who we can help!
Breaking down those barriers
We know there are barriers that might put some adults off learning to swim and we are committed to breaking these down.
We also know it takes a lot of courage for some people to come forward for swimming lessons. Some adults are embarrassed that they can’t swim – but you know as teachers we’ve seen it all before. We all must start somewhere, and swimming is great for finding muscles you didn’t know you had!
At Rebecca Adlington Leisure Centre, we offer a variety of adult swimming lessons on different days and at different times. We are sure there is a lesson to suit everyone.
For more information about our adult swimming lessons, Contact Us to speak to a member of our team today.
Our Adult Lessons are the perfect place to learn to swim for those looking to learn this amazing life-saving skill later in life. Our lessons take place in small, supportive groups of other like-minded adults that are all over 18. Our team are more than happy to take you through our Adult Lessons and membership options or you can join online by clicking the link below.