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    Swim scheme makes a splash

    07/11/2008

    Thousands of young people made a splash in Rotherham this year after taking part in free swimming sessions across the borough.

    The sessions ran throughout the summer holidays with membership cards being distributed to every school pupil aged between 11 and 16-years-old offering them two free sessions per week at their local pool.

    More than 10,000 sessions were taken up across the six-week holiday period at the borough's eight swimming pools.

    Councillor Shaun Wright, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People's Services said: "The response to this scheme has been fantastic and we were delighted to see so many young people at our pools over the summer holiday. It's been a great example of how people can work together to create exciting opportunities for our children.

    "Getting young people involved in exercise has all sorts of benefits not just in terms of promoting a healthy lifestyle. It also helps keep young people safe, for example, by using the pools rather than swimming in dangerous rivers or lakes."

    Phil Rogers, Director of Culture and Leisure Services, said: "The scheme has been a tremendous success, not only have we helped thousands of young people to enjoy their summer holidays a little more but also it has increased participation and therefore paved the way for the opening of our brand new state-of-the-art leisure facilities."

    Discussions are now on-going to see how the success of this initial scheme can be developed during next year's summer holidays.

    The scheme was run by the Council's Culture and Leisure Services with support from Children and Young People's Services and NHS Rotherham. Schools, youth centres, libraries and local police officers also helped promote the scheme to young people.