The Welsh Assembly Government has allocated £5m to provide free swimming for children and the elderly in the region.

The Assembly’s scheme, one of the first national programmes of its kind in Europe, targets children aged 16 and under during the school holidays and older people aged 60 and over outside school holiday.

The Assembly has appointed Somerset-based Alliance Leisure to deliver a training package to help 16 leisure centres across Wales to promote the swimming elements of the centres, raise awareness of the Free Swimming initiative and boost the number of swimmers coming through their doors.

Centres taking part include those run by Swansea City Council, Monmouthshire County Council and the Conwy County Borough Council.

The swimming development training, consists of five modules including Alliance Leisure’s Register of Exercise Professionals-accredited ‘The Professional Sales Process’ training day, and covers, sales, aftersales and outreach as well as customer care.

Ian Saunders, leisure manager at Momouthshire Council, said: “We will be promoting all the health benefits of swimming as well as all the pool based opportunities on offer at our centres, from lessons, swimming clubs, parent and baby sessions, aqua aerobics, life saving lessons, parties and the 50+ sessions.

“The Assemply wants us to use the free swimming initiative as a springboard to increase people’s overall activity levels.”

The Free Swimming initiative, designed to complement and contribute to the aims of the Government’s Health Challenge Wales, Climbing Higher and Older People’s Strategy, aims to increase participation in physical activity and improve the health and well-being of the nation by removing barriers and improving access to local authority leisure services.