An initiative to make more families take the plunge together has been made possible thanks to help from funding awarded by the country's swimming governing body.
Sheffield International Venues (SIV) was successful in its bid from the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) to further increase swimming participation across the city and has now launched new sessions to get the whole family in the water.
The Family Pool Parties, which are held at the SIV managed Ponds Forge International Sports Centre and Concord Sports Centre, give families the chance to take part in fun activities or dance to music played a live DJ poolside and in the water - all watched over by fully trained lifeguards.
Bev Baker, aquatics manager at SIV, said: "The funding from the ASA will help us to drive swimming participation figures, not just for individuals but for whole families as well - something which SIV is committed to achieving.
"The new Family Pool Parties are a fantastic way of doing this, giving the whole family something they can do together, encouraging them to have fun and be active. The sessions only launched a few weeks ago and are already proving incredibly popular."
SIV recently announced that it is bucking the national trend after seeing swim figures increase by more than six per cent from 144,401 across four months of 2010 to 153,356 across the same months in 2011, with Sheffield being one of the only cities to see a rise.
The leisure operator also recently launched a new swimming lesson offer to encourage more adults to take the plunge. Beginner swimmers aged 16 and over can take part in beginner swimming lessons with asa qualified teachers for the discounted price of £20 for eight lessons.
The Family Pool Parties take place every Friday between 6pm and 7.30pm. Tickets cost £4 per person or £15 per family (up to five people) and £3 per person or £11 per family at Concord Sports Centre.
For more information visit www.concordsportscentre.co.uk or
www.ponds-forge.co.uk, or call 0114 2570053 for Concord Sports Centre or 0114 223 3400 for Ponds Forge International Sports Centre.
