SAVE OUR SWIMMING CLUB
Save Penrith Swimming Club's Learn to Swim Provision
Protecting 145 years of swimming in our community
Penrith Swimming Club is facing one of the most significant challenges in its 145-year history.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
01
SIGN & SHARE OUR PETITION
Every signature strengthens our voice and shows how much Penrith Swimming Club means to our community.
02
WRITE TO YOU REPRESENTATIVES
We have created a ready-to-use letter template and contact list to make it easy to contact your MP, councillors, parish council and other local representatives.
03
SEND A LETTER OF SUPPORT
Are you a business, school, sports club, parish council, community organisation or other local group?
04
DISPLAY OUR POSTER
Help us take the campaign beyond social media. If you run a shop, business, school, sports club, community centre, village hall or other public venue, please download and display our campaign poster.
What is happening?
Penrith Swimming Club was informed by GLL in August 2026 of a proposal which would prevent the club from continuing its existing introductory swimming provision at Penrith Leisure Centre.Although this provision has historically been referred to as Learn to Swim, its purpose goes much further than conventional swimming lessons.
We are a competitive swimming club
Our introductory sessions develop swimming technique, starts, turns and the key skills children need to progress through the club and ultimately into competitive swimming.
This is where many children's journey with Penrith Swimming Club begins.
Following the proposal, Westmorland and Furness Council provided information to elected members and subsequently issued a statement to the local press.
Penrith Swimming Club strongly disputes a number of the claims made and the overall picture presented.
We are particularly concerned that information appears to have been presented largely from GLL's perspective without Penrith Swimming Club initially being given an equivalent opportunity to provide its account and supporting context.
We have challenged this information and discussions are continuing. Our aim remains simple: a fair, sustainable long-term agreement which protects the future of Penrith Swimming Club.
Why does this matter?
Penrith Swimming Club was founded in 1881, making us one of the country's oldest swimming clubs.
Our story began at Frenchfield on the River Eamont, where generations of local people learned, trained and competed.
The club grew dramatically during the early twentieth century and became one of the largest swimming clubs in the country.
Across 145 years, thousands of local people have passed through Penrith Swimming Club as swimmers, coaches, officials, parents and volunteers.
Our athletes have competed at county, regional, national and international level.
That includes Chloe Wilcox, who began her competitive journey with Penrith Swimming Club before going on to captain Great Britain's first Olympic Women's Water Polo team at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
This is a sporting and community legacy worth protecting.
Our community helped build the teaching pool
The club's relationship with Penrith Leisure Centre goes far beyond simply hiring pool space.
In the early 1990s, Penrith Swimming Club was the driving force behind the creation of the Frenchfield Teaching Pool. Club members worked tirelessly to raise funds and the club contributed approximately £40,000 towards its construction.
The pool was named Frenchfield to preserve the connection with Penrith Swimming Club's historic home on the River Eamont.
Look closely at the wall of the teaching pool today and you will still see a plaque recognising the club's contribution.
The club has continued to invest in swimming facilities since then, including purchasing equipment such as wave-breaker lane ropes and diving blocks.
Today, Penrith Swimming Club spends approximately £40,000 every year hiring facilities at Penrith Leisure Centre.
Our community helped create this pool. We want to continue using it to develop the next generation.
More than Learn to Swim
Penrith Swimming Club's introductory provision is not simply another commercial Learn to Swim product.
Our purpose is to introduce children to swimming as a sport.
Young swimmers develop stroke technique and the technical skills required to progress further, including starts, turns, finishes and the foundations needed for competitive swimming.
For some children, this leads to their first experience of representing Penrith in competition.
For others, the journey can lead to county, regional, national or international sport.
Without an effective entry point into the club, there is eventually no competitive swimming club.
That is why removing this provision could have consequences far beyond one group of swimmers.
Run entirely by volunteers
Penrith Swimming Club is run entirely by volunteers.
Our coaches, teachers, committee members, officials, parents and other helpers give thousands of hours because they care about swimming and their community.
Many have been competitive swimmers themselves and have invested significant time in gaining qualifications so they can pass their knowledge to another generation.
Penrith Swimming Club has also maintained the highest level of Swim England club accreditation for 10 consecutive years.
Safeguarding, welfare, coaching standards and good governance are fundamental to everything we do.
Swimming Matters in Cumbria
Swimming is a sport, but it is also a life skill.
This is particularly important in Cumbria, where our communities are surrounded by lakes, rivers and open water.
At a time when too many children are still leaving primary school without strong swimming and water safety skills, we believe communities should be creating more opportunities for children to become confident and capable swimmers, not fewer.
Community swimming clubs have an important role to play in making that happen.
