Sport Unlimited Success Stories

Sport Unlimited

Case Study

Bangladeshi Swimming 

Bangladeshi Swimming for girls was set up in partnership with Charnwood Sport and Active Recreation Alliance, Charnwood Borough Council Sport Development Team, Serco Leisure and Mohil Satar Kata Group

The Sessions were run as a free 10 week course during the spring term and aimed to engage semi-sporty young girls aged between 5 and 16 years old from the Hastings and Lemington Wards.

Why Bangladeshi Swimming?

Following consultation with priority groups within the Charnwood area and how we could support and help groups achieve goals it was decided that the Sports Unlimited funding was ideal to help the Mohil Satar Kata Group improve the physical and mental health and well-being of their members. With religious restraints surrounding Bangladeshi girls swimming was an activity that they may not have tried and one that was relatively easy to coordinate with fantastic outcomes.      

Who were the sessions open to?

The sessions were completely inclusive and available to all 5-16 year old Bangladeshi females who attend Mohil Satar Kata Group. Due to the activity it was particularly appealing to those of a non sporting nature as the activity is not of competitive nature and therefore was linked to improving their own skills and self belief. There were limited negative pre-conceptions for this type of activity compared to more traditional physical pursuits; the focus was on comfort, self confidence and minimising barriers to participation.

How and where were the sessions delivered?

Sessions were held in the Swimming pool at Loughborough Leisure Centre, it was decided this would be an excellent base for the group. The training pool at Loughborough offered them a private space that they could conduct there lessons thus allowing the girls to feel comfortable in an environment where the could easily feel very vulnerable given there religious beliefs, a shallow pool to help build water confidence and the private viewing area allowing family members opportunity to observe.

By introducing girls to their local Leisure Centre and in particular to female activities and environments it was envisaged that girls would grow in confidence encouraging future participation and not fear, of the environment.

What did sessions involve?

Each session was one hour in duration and focussed on different strokes of swimming, concentrating on technique, the aims were to provide girls with a taster of the various strokes so that each girl could find their favourite and preferred stroke. The last 10 minutes of the sessions were set aside for fun activity, such as water polo or float session. This was to improve the girl’s communication skills and social well being while still being active and improve their self confidence in the water.

Successes of the Project

With a retention rate of 100% the project appealed to those who attended and this is put down to the extensive pre-project consultation and excellent planning on the part of the group and coaches who delivered sessions. The course attracted a range of ages from year 2 to year 13 pupils, the majority of whom were classified as semi-sporty. Speaking to the girls and the leader of the group towards the end of the course there was extensive positive feedback not only about the sessions but also how they were welcomed and looked after by Loughborough Leisure Centre, staff which had a huge impact on the success of the project 

Sustainability

The numbers of this group has grown to around 20 Bangladeshi Swimmers plus their parents so there are enough people to pay for the hire of the pool and a lifeguard to sustain the sessions if they pay ₤1 each. The availability is there and the Leisure Centre is more then happy to help in any way they can.

Costs

The project costs were minimal and involved facility hire and instructor costs, both of which are justified through the benefits they provide, e.g. professionalism, organisation and retention. Promotion was provided in kind and coordinated by Charnwood Borough Council Sport Development Officers in partnership with Mohil Satar Kata group.

Future Plans

We will expect the session to be self sustaining; however we are looking into other ways of helping other Bangladeshi girls in the same situation that are "hard to reach" who are socially excluded and deprived in the community. We have recently secured funding through the ASA and Serco Leisure to offer this group more lessons to develop their physical and mental health and well-being through swimming.