Dear fellow swimmers
It's all political
Our March issue of Outdoor Swimmer will be arriving with our print subscribers over the next week and our digital editions have now all gone live! This month's issue is about swimming politics. Don't groan, it is a surprisingly interesting theme and we have some brilliant content as a result.
One of the best things about outdoor swimming is how it helps us escape not only what is going on in our own lives, but also how it helps us turn-off from the rest of the world. But, almost every part of swimming has a political element, whether that is as simple as navigating the lane in your local swimming pool or as complex as the Government taking proper action with the state of our waterways.
Our features writer Rowan Clarke has written a brilliant piece about the politics of swimming; she uncovers some interesting, yet miserable facts. Did you know that three times as many publicly accessible pools have closed in poor areas compared to more affluent parts of the UK? If pools are not closing, then local authorities are increasing the cost of swim sessions, pricing people out. There is a
national shortage of swim teachers and lifeguards and there is a record number of school-age children who cannot swim. We look at these issues and more, highlighting the organisations and people who are tackling them.
Meanwhile, Gear Editor Jo Tinsley reviews the latest swimwear, Simon helps us prepare to move back into open water and we report from
cold water swimming events. Our front cover is a beautiful photo of swimmers in South America taken by Ana Elisa Sotelo. I picked it because it summarises how swimming unites us and how beautiful it can be.
