Swim Nation NEWS

Rebecca Cox appointed Swim England interim CEO

Rebecca Cox has been named interim CEO of Swim England. Cox will take up the role with immediate effect and replaces Andy Salmon, who resigned as CEO in July.

Cox, currently the Business Engagement Director at Swim England and Managing Director of the Institute of Swimming, was chosen following an internal recruitment process. She has spent almost 15 years at Swim England and has served as acting CEO for the past three months.

Swim England Chair, Richard Hookway, said: “Rebecca has done an outstanding job leading the organisation as Acting Chief Executive and has demonstrated the leadership, commitment and strategic focus needed to continue driving Swim England forward.

“Rebecca is a highly respected figure across the industry, with more than 30 years of experience.

Her knowledge will be invaluable as we continue the important work already underway.”

Speaking about her appointment, Cox said: “I’m proud to be taking on the role at such an important time for Swim England. The last few months have reinforced my belief in the strength and passion of our people and the wider aquatics community. Our commitment to delivering our One Swim England strategy and transformation programme is unwavering.”

Swimming Alliance urges action on pools, activity and water safety

The Swimming Alliance has met with the Minister for Sport, Stephanie Peacock MP, to call for greater investment in swimming pools, aquatic facilities and water safety education.

The group, which represents more than 25 national organisations, also pressed the case for cleaner recreational water and stronger recognition of swimming within future physical activity policy.

Alliance representatives said swimming pools and leisure centres are essential community assets that support public health, physical activity and water safety. They called for previously announced grassroots sports funding to include targeted investment for aquatic facilities.

News

£17m MyActive Leek opens with new 25m swimming pool

A new 25-metre swimming pool and dedicated teaching pool have opened at MyActive Leek following the completion of a £17 million redevelopment of the former Brough Park Leisure Centre.

Delivered by Alliance Leisure on behalf of Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, the transformed facility forms part of the wider regeneration of Leek town centre and is designed to expand access to swimming, physical activity and wellbeing opportunities for the local community. At the heart of the redevelopment is a six-lane, 25-metre swimming pool, supported by a separate teaching pool. The new aquatic provision is intended to create more opportunities for swimming lessons, recreational swimming and structured activity for people of different ages and abilities.

Sustainability has been a major focus of the project. MyActive Leek is now an all-electric facility, with air source heat pumps replacing gas boilers. Further measures include rooftop solar panels, LED lighting and improvements to the building fabric, helping to reduce long-term energy consumption and carbon emissions.

STA launches multilingual water safety resources

The Swimming Teachers’ Association (STA) has launched multilingual versions of its Water Safety Code and Float to Live resources to help more families access potentially life-saving advice this summer.

The free resources are available in Welsh, Polish, Romanian, Punjabi (Gurmukhi), Urdu, Bengali and Gujarati, alongside English. STA said the initiative aims to remove language barriers and improve access to clear water safety guidance as more people visit beaches, rivers and lakes.

The launch follows at least 35 drowning deaths in the UK since May, with August historically one of the busiest periods for accidental drownings.

“Water doesn’t discriminate,” said Dave Candler, CEO of STA. “It doesn’t matter what language you speak – the risks are the same for everyone. That’s why it’s so important that these life-saving messages are available in languages more families can understand.”

Swimwell swim school opens £1m purpose-built pool in Stafford

Independent swim school, Swimwell, has opened a £1m, purpose-built swimming pool in Stafford. Located at the town’s Kingsmead Retail Park, the 20m x 8m pool will enable Swimwell to expand its provision significantly, increasing capacity from around 600 swimmers to approximately 2,000. The facility marks a major milestone for the swim school, which has been helping children develop confidence and essential water safety skills for more than a decade.

Opened by Olympic medallist and Commonwealth champion, James Guy, the pool has been designed specifically for swimming lessons.