Seven Coventry women have banded together to help increase access to female-only swimming sessions at local sports centres.
The group was formed after female members of Rising Stars Youth & Community Group in Foleshill discovered a shortage of female lifeguards in the city and reached out to Positive Youth Foundation (PYF) to help address the problem.
With the goal to help women and girls from the community participate in swimming activities, the group found sensitivities around having male lifeguards at local pools to be at the heart of the issue.
PYF worked with CV Life, including staff at Centre AT7, to provide lifeguard training sessions as part of its Go Foleshill initiative – and now the group is fully qualified to supervise swimming pools at local sports centres.
PYF’s Go Foleshill programme was launched in May 2021 to address health inequalities including the lack of female-led sports and leisure which disproportionately affects the Foleshill community, and featured weekly swimming sessions held in a safe and comfortable environment to encourage body-confidence, welcome all backgrounds, and improve participation across multiple activities in the area.
Seven of the strongest swimmers from a group of over 20 undertook the five-day Lifeguard Training Course in October, with a 100 per cent pass rate.
Amna Sami, who became a qualified lifeguard through Go Foleshill, said: “Go Foleshill has been a brilliant way of enabling women of all faiths and backgrounds to make use of their community spaces, as female supervision allows women to exercise without disregarding customs and beliefs around socialising with other men.
“The sessions themselves were a great way to build friendships and bonds in the local community, and they will have a lasting effect for everyone involved, especially as we now look to build on this and push for more female-friendly sessions to take place across the city.
“There is a real need to continue building this support structure to help people in the area feel comfortable in the pool, in their swimming costumes, and in their own skin so they can get active and be part of the community.”
Annette Allen, who became qualified through the programme, added: “It’s been a liberating experience for everyone involved and to be able to now have the chance to allow more members of the community to experience that is fantastic.
“By providing supervision to other women, we are hoping to reduce the fears and concerns that women of any age, ability or background might have about taking part in group exercise. The support from PYF has been fantastic, and we are looking forward to building on what they have helped to start.”
As well as helping to increase swimming participation in the area working alongside CV Life and the Rising Stars Youth & Community Group, PYF has helped more than 3,000 local people get active via a range of activities including cycling and canoeing as part of Go Foleshill.
Go Foleshill was supported by strategic partners Coventry City Council and West Midlands Combined Authority and funded by Sport England.
Nikki Miles, Programme Lead for Healthy Futures at PYF, said: “Go Foleshill has been a huge part of our Healthy Futures programme at PYF, in our ongoing mission to help people get active in their communities and improve their lifestyles.
“We have helped to implement a wide range of exciting projects and activities over the last 18 months to help the Foleshill community get more active, and we have seen some incredible results, including through our lifeguard initiative.
“We are extremely proud of all of the women who took part in the programme. Some of the feedback has been incredible, but we are thrilled that they now plan to take what they have learned out into the wider community and enable others to feel the benefits.”
Laura Williams, Centre Manager at CV Life, said: “It has been a privilege to support PYF with Go Foleshill, and especially pleasing to see the drive to support female-led swimming sessions, which we have been trying to push for a number of years now.
“The impact that just a few new lifeguards can have is massive in terms of the potential number of people we can help to get active, and their commitment to their training, as well as the enjoyment they have had in participating, has been truly inspiring.”
Humera Maqsood, from the Rising Stars Group, commented: “It has been an epic journey from a simple idea some of us had over tea and samosas a year ago to having our very own first batch of community female lifeguards.
“It has been a tremendous effort from all concerned including PYF, CV Life and the women themselves. The project is a great example of a community initiative coming to life with the support of partners.”
Caption: Participants of the Go Foleshill programme