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.
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.
Collaborations with the medical profession and greater aspirations around wellbeing are creating a need for more experts in our sector. It’s time to reboot our thinking around the workforce
As the entrepreneur who started Wexer, Fresh Fitness, Fitness DK and Repeat, as well as being a former elite athlete, Rasmus Ingerslev’s life looked perfect from the outside, but onthe inside it was a different story. He talks to Kath Hudson about healing old wounds
If the health service is to
survive, we must recognise
that it is a disease service
– and that wellbeing rests with
us, says the activity advocate
and healthy ageing champion.
He talks to Kate Cracknell
Active Blackpool is deploying Cornerstone Connect, a new digital interface allowing
disparate information from multiple systems to be aggregated into one dataset, to support
its focus on reducing health inequalities and improving healthy life expectancy.
A nationwide celebration for the upcoming Summer Solstice and International Yoga Day will
take place at Everyone Active facilities across the country on Friday, 19 June 2026.
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.
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.
Collaborations with the medical profession and greater aspirations around wellbeing are creating a need for more experts in our sector. It’s time to reboot our thinking around the workforce
As the entrepreneur who started Wexer, Fresh Fitness, Fitness DK and Repeat, as well as being a former elite athlete, Rasmus Ingerslev’s life looked perfect from the outside, but onthe inside it was a different story. He talks to Kath Hudson about healing old wounds
If the health service is to
survive, we must recognise
that it is a disease service
– and that wellbeing rests with
us, says the activity advocate
and healthy ageing champion.
He talks to Kate Cracknell
Strength training is evolving,
driven by changing consumer
preferences. Julie Cramer talks
to innovators about how their
products are meeting this demand
For every member with a tripod and a big following, there are others irritated at the way equipment is being hogged or wary they’ll be in the background on someone’s Insta feed. Do influencers offer valuable, free marketing or are they just a nuisance? Kath Hudson finds out how operators are responding
Record market penetration in the UK
fitness sector masks a deeper shift
around consumer engagement, according
to a report from Grant Thornton and
UK Active, as Liz Terry reports
With corporately-owned clubs,
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and proprietary tech, Viva Leisure’s
ecosystem is redefining how
gyms scale and generate revenue.
Its CEO speaks to Kate Cracknell
Active Blackpool is deploying Cornerstone Connect, a new digital interface allowing
disparate information from multiple systems to be aggregated into one dataset, to support
its focus on reducing health inequalities and improving healthy life expectancy.
A nationwide celebration for the upcoming Summer Solstice and International Yoga Day will
take place at Everyone Active facilities across the country on Friday, 19 June 2026.
