The England Swims survey is now closed. Thank you to everyone who completed the survey and supported us through this vital campaign. The responses and experiences from everyone are greatly appreciated. They will help us to inform our next 10 year strategy, which will be our most ambitious yet to increase diversity in the water and our sports. We look forward to updating you on the results in the coming weeks.
We still want to hear from you. If swimming isn’t for you, you’ve never learnt, or you love it – we would love to hear your story.
Complete our short form here and one of our team will be in touch to get more details.
Akeela Mohammed
Akeela Mohammed DL says her family were ‘fortunate’ but that not all Muslim families have the same opportunities, as she explains the barriers to participating in aquatics.
She has four siblings, with two brothers and two older sisters.
Swimwear, as it is for many Muslim women and girls, was the main barrier to participation for Akeela’s family.
Her eldest sister was the first to begin learning through school swimming lessons but had to stop as she wasn’t able to cover her arms and legs.
Sharing the story of her sister’s experience, Akeela said: “When my sister got to about 11, my mum and dad said ‘oh you can’t go swimming anymore’ because once a Muslim girl gets to the age of puberty then she has to cover.
Eid Aljazairli
Eid Aljazairli admits that swimming and being in the water helps him feel ‘free’ and provides a place where he isn’t judged or ‘titled’.
Eid is a refugee swimmer who fled Syria and moved to the UK back in 2018. He lived in a YMCA hostel in London and grew a passion for swimming after accidentally stumbling upon videos of Michael Phelps.
From that day, Eid says ‘the dream was born’ as he has his sights set on competing for the refugee Olympic team at Paris 2024.
When he arrived in the UK, Eid had no money and has predominantly taught himself how to swim, whilst also securing a few free lessons along the way.
Recalling his experiences in Syria, he said: “When I was back home in Syria, I had never swam in my life.
“I used to go to the pool with my friends just to chill, sit around, have fun – I never had any swimming lessons in Syria.
Katrice Rodrigues
Katrice Rodrigues is hoping for change as she says diversity in aquatics is improving, but there’s still ‘a long way to go’.
Qualified Swim England tutor, Katrice, has been a part of aquatics at every level, from learning to swim, swimming competitively, becoming a swimming teacher and now a tutor.
She is a member of the Black Teachers Association and is currently working towards establishing a swim group called ‘Afro Aquatics’ in Leicester to provide opportunities for those from the Afro-Caribbean community to swim regularly.
Katrice is from a mixed ethnic background, her dad is from Jamaica and her mum is white English, but she was adopted at a young age and grew up with a white English family.
She grew up in a small village before moving to the city of Leicester whilst still in secondary school.
Her parents were supportive of her and her brother’s choice to start swimming, and the pair began lessons at around eight-years-old, with Katrice later moving into a competitive swimming club.
About England Swims
England Swims is a national campaign which is appealing for those from ethnically diverse communities to give their views and experiences – with the aim of helping to make water-based activity more accessible and enjoyable for everyone.
This includes those who can swim but may choose not to, those who cannot swim, those who have tried but have not had positive experiences and those that already enjoy the water.
Swim England is hoping to receive the largest response to a survey of its type in the sport and leisure sector to help understand the barriers to swimming for underrepresented groups and communities. The results will significantly shape the future of the sector and Swim England’s next 10-year strategy, which will be its most ambitious yet in terms increasing diversity in the water. The findings will also be shared with other sporting organisations.