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British Swimming nets £15m British Gas deal
British Swimming has announced that it has secured a six-year sponsorship deal with British Gas that will see £15m invested to support all levels of sport leading up to and beyond London 2012.
It is hoped that the partnership will also help develop related sports, including water polo and diving, while also supporting schemes designed to give everyone in Britain the chance to learn to swim. Three key areas will be targeted as part of the deal, including a commitment to help local pools and community groups prevent swimming facilities closing down, and a pledge to increase the number of young people leaving primary school with the ability to swim 25m.
British Swimming and British Gas also aim to identify and nurture elite athletes who have a chance of winning medals at the London 2012 Olympics, as well as increasing the number of world-ranked British swimmers. David Sparkes, British Swimming chief executive, said: "British Swimming looks forward to working with British Gas as a long-term partners and this provides us all with an opportunity to take a significant step forward. Together we'll work hard towards achieving more medals in London 2012 and to get more people swimming more often.
"Just as British Gas works for millions of customers, the home country swimming associations provide excellent programmes for all – from young children through to adult health and participation schemes – these care for all ages and abilities involved with swimming." The deal is announced at the same time as culture secretary Andy Burnham warned sports national governing bodies from engaging in a 'dash for cash', arguing that chasing after funding can have a negative impact upon sports.
Plans have also been unveiled for the introduction of a 'Ryder Cup' style competition between Europe and United States this year in a bid to capture the public's imagination.