Olympian meets young Highlanders learning to swim
Olympian Swimmer Joanne Jackson visited Invergordon Leisure Centre on Sunday 14 November to help launch the Scottish Swimming Learn to Swim initiative with the help of 5-8 year olds from across the Highlands who are currently learning to swim in council run pools.
Joanne first represented Great Britain in 2001 as a junior and in 2003 she was selected as a senior and immediately had her first major success when she medaled at the European Short Course Championships. The following year at only 17 years of age she was selected to swim in her first Olympic Games in Athens in the 400m freestyle. In 2006 as a member of England’s Commonwealth Games team in Melbourne she won a brace of silver medals. At the Olympics in Beijing Joanne was presented with the 400m freestyle bronze medal in a thrilling race where she was just touched out of the gold & silver medals. At the 2009 World Championships in Rome she had an incredible swim in the fastest women’s 400m race of all time, getting her first success of the championships with a silver medal which was followed by bronze in the 4x200m relay in a new European record time. She also took silver medal in the 800m. At the recent Commonwealth Games in India she won a bronze medal in the 4×200m freestyle.
The revamped Learn to Swim programme will be rolled out to all Highland Council run Swimming Pools. Young children from Thurso, Wick, Sutherland, Tain, Invergordon, Dingwall, Nairn, Ullapool, Grantown on Spey, Lochaber and Nairn came along to watch Joanne give a special swimming demonstration before having lessons and then getting presented with special certificates.
Jeff added: “In Highland we have been piloting the Scottish Swimming Learn To Swim initiative and it has been tweaked and is now ready to be rolled out. Over 1000 children each week learn to swim at council run pools and staff do a tremendous job in passing on the skills and giving children the confidence to enjoy being in the water.”
Councillor Bill Fernie, Chairman of The Highland Council’s Education, Culture and Sport committee said: Learning to swim is an important skill, not only in order to stay safe in the water but it also opens up opportunities to take part and enjoy lots of water based leisure activities. It is much easier to learn as a child than as an adult which is why our Leisure staff play such an important role. Their support and instruction to over 1000 children each week is impressive and I am sure they will find the newly improved national initiative helps them in their teaching.”