Swim England has published a new Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan.

Swim England has published a new action plan to highlight the long-term commitment it is taking to make its sports and activities more accessible, diverse and inclusive.

The national governing body’s Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) aligns with its recently launched new strategy, One Swim England, to tackle inequalities and remove barriers which currently prevent participation in swimming, diving, water polo and artistic swimming.

The plan includes objectives and actions which will be completed in the short, medium and long-term. As part of the organisation’s commitment to transparency, progress updates will be published in July and January each year.

Insight highlights that people from ethnically diverse communities, the LGBTQ+ community, disabled people and those with long-term health conditions and from lower socio-economic groups are under-represented within the aquatic community.

Mike Hawkes, Swim England Head of Diversity and Inclusion, said he was looking forward to seeing how the DIAP would drive the impact in the future and ensure that the foundations were in place to enable long-term change.

Working collaboratively

He added: “We are glad to be in a position to publish our DIAP, laying out our commitments in this area and the actions that we will be taking.

Ensuring our DIAP fully aligns with our One Swim England was a key objective when drafting our action plan. We are therefore committed to reviewing the plan regularly and developing our action plan as our new strategy progresses.

“The only way we can achieve the ambitious actions set out in this plan is by working collaboratively with our membership and community groups and organisations that currently support groups that are underrepresented in aquatics.

“I’m looking forward to strengthening our existing relationships in this area and forging new ones.”

Swim England Chief Executive, Andy Salmon, added: “We believe inclusion should run as a golden thread throughout our work areas and I’m delighted that we are now in a position to publish our new DIAP.

“The plan aligns with One Swim England as we look to create a brighter future for the entire aquatic community.”

The full plan can be found on the Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan page within the Swim England Inclusion Hub.