Duncan’s learnto swimcall
Olympic hero Duncan Scott is inspiring the biggest drive ever to encourage people of all ages and abilities in Perth and Kinross to learn to swim.
As part of his role as Learn to Swim Ambassador, the former Strathallan student is supporting the Septemberlong celebration to help both children and adults of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to become safe and confident swimmers – especially with pools reopening after lockdown restrictions were lifted.
Perth Leisure Pool is scheduled to open in October following severe flood damage last year.
The existing Learn to Swim framework for children – a partnership between Scottish Swimming and Scottish Water – has already seen more than 100,000 young people participate in regular swimming lessons since it launched four years ago.
Duncan has been an ambassador for four years - alongside Paralympic medallist Toni Shaw - and has played a vital role in continuing to inspire, develop and motivate the next generation of swimmers.
“I hope everyone gets behind Learn to Swim month,” Duncan said. “I know people that because of COVID haven’t been able to get in a pool for a very long time so this might encourage them to take their kids at a weekend.
“Learning to swim is a life skill and it’s so important for everyone to learn how to be safe and confident in the water. I’ve always enjoyed swimming and while not everyone will have ambitions to be an Olympic athlete, it’s an essential skill to have and fun to learn too.”
Euan Lowe, Scottish Swimming chief executive officer, said: “Due to various restrictions over the last 18 months, swimming lessons were put on pause or disrupted.
“So now that pools are opening up again we want to see lessons full once more with kids excited to be back in the water.
“We are particularly keen to get older children to return to the pool to finish training that would have been halted or affected during lockdown. And we have always ensured that disability is no barrier, so no child should ever miss out.
“Learn to Swim month is the biggest drive we’ve had to focus on all that’s good about swimming. It also should be highlighted that, regardless of age, it is a lifelong skill. Core skills such as floating, treading water and sculling could even save your life.”
More information on the Learn to Swim Framework can be found at www. learntoswim.scot