YOUNGSTERS in West Lothian have participated in a "once-in-a-lifetime" swim class with top Tokyo Olympics champion Duncan Scott.
Scott is the UK’s most decorated athlete from the Tokyo Games, and after West Lothian Leisure was recognised as Learn to Swim Provider of the Year, he made a splash at Xcite’s Broxburn Sports Centre.
More than 130 children participated in the swimming lessons learning vital life skills such as floating and treading water and vital skills to move through water such different strokes and streamlining.
Programme ambassador and Scotland’s all-time top medal-winning Commonwealth athlete Scott shared knowledge and skills with youngsters during the lessons delivering some teaching on poolside and in the pool.
He said: “Swimming pools are vital community hubs. Without pools we would be literally putting lives at risk so it’s great to see so many happy, smiling faces today!”
Xcite is one of 37 aquatic providers delivering The Learn to Swim framework – a partnership between Scottish Swimming and Scottish Water.
Scott added: “It’s fantastic to see the work Xcite West Lothian are doing around learn to swim to become Scottish Water Learn to Swim Provider of the Year and the programme is set to grow by more than 25% over the next three years.
“There has been a real buzz in the lead up to Duncan’s visit. Broxburn is our largest site, welcoming more than 1500 youngsters weekly so it is great to have a visit from such a role model."
Xcite is a community hub that increased the capacity of youngsters learning to swim from 3855 in May 2021 to more than 5031 in August 2022.
This resulted in an additional 1300 children attending lessons every week with a further 200 children to join the programme in February 2023 as the programme expands.
Scott's fellow Learn to Swim ambassador and Paralympian Toni Shaw is also behind the campaign to develop "a generation of confident, safer and competent swimmers".
More than 100,000 youngsters receive lessons with plans to reach a further 100,000 by 2025.
Scott said: “Learn to Swim has been a major success and we see children improve their swimming skills on a weekly basis. We know Duncan’s visit will leave a lasting impact on our community’s next generation of swimmers.
“The earlier that a child becomes familiar with the aquatic environment and being in and around water the better. It maybe someone from the programme follows in Duncan’s footsteps, but most importantly, we hope they continue to inspire children to learn to swim."
The National Learn to Swim Framework has already provided lessons to more than 100,000 youngsters, and wants to reach a further 100,000 by 2025.
The next step is to create “generation swim” – a platform for children to achieve their best in and out of the pool.
