Swimming skills belong to everyone – the Helsinki Metropolitan Area is setting an example with free pop-up swimming schools
Children’s and adults’ swimming skills have declined significantly in recent years. Nearly half of Finnish people are unable to swim properly, and not all families have the financial means to practise swimming. Learning this vital skill will become easier in February as the Cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo, Kirkkonummi and Kauniainen join forces with FitPit Oy and the Finnish Swimming Teaching and Lifesaving Federation (SUH) to start free-of-charge pop-up swimming schools for children and adults.
Being able to swim is a civic skill that every person living in our country should have an opportunity to learn, first and foremost to be able to safely enjoy activities in and at water. The challenges of recent years, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic, have washed over people’s learning of swimming skills like a tidal wave. It is now time to look into the future, grab the bull by the horns together and take concrete action.
Free-of-charge pop-up swimming schools
The free-of-charge pop-up swimming schools will provide children and adults with an opportunity to learn to swim in a safe environment, under the guidance of professional swimming teachers. This year, swimming schools will be held in the swimming halls of the Cities of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi and Kauniainen, and at beaches in the summer season. The goal is for more than 12,000 children and adults unable to swim to take part in the swimming schools.
The dates of the swimming schools have been planned to mostly coincide with school holidays to enable as many people as possible to participate. The pop-up swimming schools involve individual 30-minute teaching sessions that provide a low-threshold opportunity to take a swimming lesson in an eight-person group. The pop-up swimming schools are free of charge but require advance registration via the FitPit website.
In Helsinki, the first pop-up swimming schools will be held during the winter break week at the Itäkeskus and Jakomäki swimming halls at the following times:
Itäkeskus Swimming Hall
Monday 17 February at 10.00–15.00
Tuesday 18 February at 10.00–15.00
Sign up: Itäkeskus Swimming Hall
Jakomäki Swimming Hall
Wednesday 19 February at 9.00–14.00
Thursday 20 February at 9.00–14.00
Sign up: Jakomäki Swimming Hall
“We want to take part in encouraging children and adults to learn to swim to enable increasingly many Helsinki residents to enjoy the joys of water exercise, as well as the opportunities provided by maritime Helsinki. At the free-of-charge pop-up swimming schools, we can together provide learning experiences to many whose swimming skills have room for improvement,” says Head of the Sports Activation function Tuuli Salospohja from the City of Helsinki Sports Services.
Towards a society where everyone can learn to swim
Being able to swim is more than just a skill. It opens the doors to fun summertime activities and safety at water, and it can even save someone’s life. The free-of-charge pop-up swimming schools are one concrete step towards a society where swimming skills belong to everyone. This campaign presents an opportunity to make a difference – not just in the statistics, but in people’s lives as well.
“We are inviting swimming associations, cities and communities across Finland to join in. The exemplary participation of the Cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo, Kirkkonummi and Kauniainen is a fine demonstration of the fact that by working together, we can bring swimming skills back to their esteemed position,” comments Swimming Instruction Specialist Tero Savolainen from SUH.
“Together with our cooperation partners, we want to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to learn to swim. This is more than just a project; it is a promise for a better and safer future for all of us,” comments Laura Manninen, the founder of FitPit.
Further information and registration for the pop-up swimming schools:
https://www.fitpit.fi/fi/pop-up-uimakoulut