Swim Wales awards success for Freedom Leisure

Freedom Leisure has been named the ‘Learn to Swim provider of the Year 2020’ at the Swim Wales Learn to Swim Conference.

The award ceremony, which took place during the Swim Wales Learn to Swim Conference 2020, was held earlier this month at the Radisson Blue Hotel in Cardiff.

It was the first time the awards had been presented by Swim Wales to recognise the inspiring work that individuals and organisations deliver across Wales to enable people of all ages and abilities to learn the skill that saves lives.

Not-for-profit leisure trust Freedom Leisure run Learn to Swim programmes in 19 pools right across Wales, to enable people to achieve the life skill in a safe, fun, supportive, and relaxing environment.

Locally Freedom Leisure operates four Waterworld Leisure & Activity Centre, Gwyn Evans Leisure & Activity Centre, Chirk Leisure & Activity Centre and Queensway Stadium on behalf of Wrexham Council.

Hywel Evans, aquatic development manager for Freedom Leisure in Wales, said: “We currently have over 9000 people in our swim school programme and we have an aim to increase this to over 10,000 by the end of March 2020.

“It is testament to the amazing teaching delivered every week by our swim school teams and we are delighted to have been recognised for this.”

Hanna Guise, national learn to swim manager for Swim Wales said, “We were overwhelmed by the number of nominations that we received for the inaugural Learn to Swim Awards, which confirms the impact that swimming teachers and Learn to Swim Providers have on their customers.

“We are extremely proud of providers like Freedom Leisure who are so vital in working towards our mission to inspire our nation to enjoy, participate, learn and compete in Welsh aquatics. Well Done to the Freedom Team for being shortlisted and for winning this award.”

As well as winning the overall Provider of the Year award Freedom Leisure’s Swim School instructors were nominated in the Swimming Teacher of the Year and Outstanding Contribution to Learn to Swim in Wales categories. This reflects the ongoing investment in the development of our swim teacher workforce.

Ivan Horsfall Turner, managing director at Freedom Leisure, added: “This award is truly well deserved by our teams in Wales who are a great example of our organisational aim to inspire everyone to enjoy and participate in swimming starting with the crucial first part of that journey – learning.”