Olympic swimmer joins kids in the pool at Perth Leisure Centre

LOCAL Olympic Swimmer Stephen Milne will join kids in the pool this month to celebrate the success of a ground-breaking programme that’s teaching youngsters to learn to swim.

The one-of-a-kind swimming lesson will take place at Perth Leisure Pool on 27^th August – a pool where Stephen has done much of his training to take him to the big stage

The Learn to Swim Framework teaches almost 2500 kids in Perth every week and children from different classes and abilities will take place in the launch event later this month.

Delivered by Live Active Leisure, in partnership with Scottish Swimming and Scottish Water, the Learn to Swim Framework teaches children of all abilities from birth upwards.

Kids will have the chance to ask Stephen for his top tips and swimming advice in a Q&A session on the day.

Euan Lowe, Chief Executive at Scottish Swimming, said: “Perth is a real community hub for Learn to Swim, club swimming and recreational fun swimming.

“With an estimated 40% of children unable to swim by the time they leave primary school, it’s fantastic to see Perth committed to making sure that local kids get to learn this key life skill.”

There are already more than 75,000 kids – including 5,600 pre-school children – who are on the national programme and the target is to reach 100,000 children across Scotland by 2020.

Phil Coleman, Sport Manager at Live Active Leisure, said: “We’ve worked hard to ensure a seamless transition to the new framework and we’re delighted to be part of the national programme. Having Stephen support our official launch is fantastic – he’s a local hero here and an inspiration to all the local children!”

Perth recently played host to the launch of the water safety campaign in June which saw the 25-year-old swimmer demonstrate how best to stay safe in and around the water.

Brian Lironi, Director of Corporate Affairs for Scottish Water, said: “We’re proud to support this programme as it equips children with skills that will help them to be safer in the water – whether at their local pool, at the beach on holiday or even just out and about around Scotland’s miles of coastline, rivers and lochs.

“It also partners perfectly with our Your Water Your Life campaign. We want to encourage young swimmers, like everyone, to stay hydrated – and what better way to do that than to enjoy the great tasting, fresh Scottish water straight from the tap?”

A recent study of the impact of the Learn to Swim programme has found overwhelming approval from parents and from managers tasked with delivering the lessons across Scotland.

The Framework helps to create quality Learn to Swim environments for children, giving them opportunities to progress through the aquatic pathway and to swim for fun.

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