THE BLACK SWIMMING ASSOCIATION
Throughout aquatics people of African, Caribbean, and Asian heritage are being precluded. These barriers are often entrenched and complex, which leaves these communities without the necessary education in water safety and drowning prevention. Statistics from Sport England state:
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95% of Black adults and 80% of Black children do not swim.
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1 in 4 children in leave primary school unable to swim.
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According to the WHO the risk of drowning is higher among “minority ethnic” communities.
The BSA's mission is to change that.
WHAT WE DO
The Black Swimming Association (BSA) is a non-profit organisation set up to:
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Ensure people of African, Caribbean, and Asian heritage have equals access, and a safe experience in and around water.
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Highlight swimming as an essential and invaluable life-saving skill for all communities.
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Promote education among African, Caribbean, and Asian communities on water safety and drowning prevention measures.
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Challenge the Aquatic sector into addressing its inherent systemic and institutional inequalities.
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Ensure that the issues that preclude these communities from engaging in aquatics are researched, understood and adequately addressed.
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Collaborate with national aquatic governing bodies, brands and other charities in order to drive participation, engagement and inclusion for African, Caribbean, and Asian communities in aquatics.
OUR MISSION
Diversifying The World of Aquatics
EDUCATION
The BSA works with partners across the aquatic sector to increase awareness of water safety and the health benefits of aquatics. Through these partnerships the BSA consistently tackles the inherent systemic inequalities present in our sector. Through education we can raise awareness of water safety, drowning prevention measures, and the importance of learning how to swim.
ADVOCACY
At the BSA, we are dedicated to understanding and addressing barriers that limit communities of African, Caribbean, and Asian heritage from engaging in aquatics and water safety. We work in partnership with institutions so that we can comprehensively tackle issues of diversity, inclusion, participation, engagement and representation in aquatics.
SUPPORT
One of the key objectives of the BSA is to make swimming more accessible. The BSA does this by supporting swim charities, swim teachers and grassroots swimming clubs. Amazing work is already being done in the community, the BSA simply ensures that it can continue. Through this support we can significantly increase the number of people from African, Caribbean, and Asian heritage of who have access to water, while also removing barriers to participation.
RESEARCH
The BSA is committed to fully unpacking the various issues that restrict African, Caribbean, and Asian communities from accessing aquatics. As a result, the BSA is currently producing targeted, accurate, and independent research on the topic. Only by fully understanding all the problems our communities face in aquatics, can we work to dismantle them, and create a more inclusive arena.