National Swimming Pool Day is celebrated on July 11th every year. It’s a day to celebrate the joys of swimming, swimming pools and the vital life skills that they allow us to learn.
What is National Swimming Pool Day?
National Swimming Pool Day originates back in 3000 B.C., in the ancient city of Mohenjo-Daro (now in Pakistan), where a remarkable 40 by 23-foot pool lined with bricks and sealed with a tar-like substance was discovered. It seems our love for taking a dip goes way, way back.
The Romans also built pools – for military exercises, nautical games, and athletic training. Fish ponds as we have come to know them also originate from the Romans, when Roman emperors had private pools filled with fish, which they aptly named “piscina” the Latin word meaning “fish pond”. Gaius Maecenas, a wealthy Roman lord and patron of the arts, is credited with constructing the first heated swimming pool around 100 B.C.
Eventually, swimming pools gained popularity in Britain. By 1837, the earliest indoor pools with diving boards emerged, which is where aquatic acrobatics started to take off. With continued river related deaths occurring, various swimming pools were built, including The Maidstone Swimming Club, established in 1844 in Maidstone, Kent, which stands proudly as one of Britain’s oldest surviving swimming clubs. Its noble mission was to teach people to swim and prevent drowning incidents.
The UK Swimming Pool Crisis in 2025
Whilst it is fun to remember where we have come from in the humble swimming pool’s history, today’s events are threatening its future.
The rising cost of energy crisis in the United Kingdom has over recent years has had a significant impact on the country’s infrastructure and the leisure industry has not been immune to this effect. One of the leisure industries most impacted by the energy crisis is the swimming pool industry, with many swimming pool facilities struggling to stay open due to increased energy costs.
The Local Government Association is one organisations asking the government for more support for local, public run swimming pools.
It is feared that without continued support for these services, many swimming pool facilities will close across the UK.
This could then have a wider negative physical, mental and emotional impact on millions of people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds.
Swimming is a vital life skill – and it’s under threat
It is well documented that swimming is one of the most important exercises for overall physical health and mental well being, but most importantly it is a vital life skill, one that every child should learn and have access to learn. Just this week there was another unfortunate drowning of a child in an English swimming pool. 1 of 5 childhood deaths is still caused by drowning, a very sad and completely preventable statistic.
The Chief Medical Officer in the UK says children should do around 60 minutes of exercise a day. Swimming makes up a vital component of this requirement, especially seeing as schools are required to provide swimming lessons in either Key Stage 1 of Key Stage 2 as part of the National Curriculum.
The aim is that all children should be able to swim 25m confidently by the time they leave primary school.
But with more and more swimming pools closing, it’s becoming harder to access swimming lessons to learn this vital life skill.
In the June 2025, Swim England reported that 500 swimming pools have been lost since 2010. Of all the pools lost in that time, almost half (42%) have been lost since 2020. (Source: Swim England)
In addition, Sport England’s latest Active Lives Children and Young People survey for the 2023-24 academic year reports 30% of children in Year 7 are unable to swim 25m competently, confidently and proficiently, a statistic that has risen from 27% in 2017-18.
But there is hope! Free Swimming for Kids!
It is not all doom and gloom though. There are many entities that are fighting to make swimming accessible to our children. Across the UK, local councils and community groups are stepping up.
If you are a Lambeth local, here’s a great deal for you: all Lambeth children under 11 years of age can swim for free during general swim sessions at Active Lambeth leisure centres.
Elsewhere, many councils run free or low-cost swimming sessions during school holidays – it’s worth checking your local authority website for details.
How You can Celebrate National Swimming Pool Day in 2025
Here are some easy ways to get involved:
- Take your family swimming – make a day of it!
- Share your favourite pool memory on social media using #NationalSwimmingPoolDay
- Write to your MP about saving local pools
- Support swim schools or community-led initiatives
- Volunteer at swimming events or clubs that help kids learn to swim
Our Committment to the Community
At Cindy’s, we believe swimming should be safe, accessible, and fun for everyone. That’s why we support community initiatives and promote swimming education wherever possible.
If you’re passionate about swimming or worried about closures in your area, let’s work together to keep pools open and learning afloat.
Get Involved
Have a story to share about how swimming changed your life? Want to highlight a local campaign to save your community pool?
We’d love to hear from you. Contact us or tag us on our Facebook page. Let’s celebrate National Swimming Pool Day – and protect the future of swimming for generations to come.
