The Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) and Black Swimming Association (BSA) form partnership to enable everyone to enjoy water safely and to help save lives in the water.

The BSA is the first organisation of its kind in the UK, set up as a voice, an advocate and a strategic agent for change, to drive forward participation, inclusion and diversity in aquatics for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people.

Statistics show that 95 per cent of black adults and 80 per cent of black children in England do not swim, the launch of the BSA in March this year aims to address this.

Ed Accura, Head of Partnerships at the Black Swimming Association said:

We know that our strength lies in working together to understand, overcome and break significant age-long barriers to swimming within black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.

Only in collaborative partnership can we drive participation, engagement and inclusion, for people from BAME communities in aquatics. That is ultimately why we decided to launch the Black Swimming Association and were delighted when we were approached by the Royal Life Saving Society UK.

Robert Gofton, CEO at the Royal Life Saving Society UK said:

For almost 130 years our Charity has existed to enable everyone to enjoy water, safely; this latest definition of our purpose has helped focus our strategy, with the solid reinforcement of our belief that every life is worth saving.

One of our specific priorities within the new strategy, is the identification of funding to bring vocational lifeguard training into BAME communities, where these opportunities may not ordinarily be visible or accessible.

Our partnership with the Black Swimming Association is an exciting one and will be the catalyst for new initiatives, and more inclusive representation across the leisure sector, as well as enabling us to reach new communities with our water safety advice.

Image credit – Black Swimming Association L-R: Danielle Obe, Seren Jones, Alice Deering and Ed Accura

The Rooftop provides a daily dose of positive news.

It’s funded by Campaign Collective as part of its positive social impact.