Andrew Nile, from Fowey, isn’t sure when he first decided to get back in a swimming pool after twenty years of not going near one.
It could be when one of his shop customers asked him what he would do if he fell in Fowey River, or it might have been watching a couple enjoy themselves swimming off Readymoney Beach in cold weather.
Andrew hadn’t learnt to swim at school because he was terrified of drowning, and even getting his face wet caused him to panic. His father could scuba dive and his brothers had become competent swimmers when they were young, so why not him? Spurred on by a combination of possible triggers, Andrew decided to sign up for Better Swim School lessons at St Austell Leisure Centre. Now he’s their Swimmer of the Month.
“I’m so pleased with the progress I’ve made so far,” he said. “I started out with no balance in the water whatsoever and my throat would involuntarily close up whenever I tried to blow bubbles.
“I thought it would take me months to learn to float on the water unaided because my legs would always sink to the floor, even when using buoyancy aids. The penny dropped during my third swimming session when Helen got me to plank in the shallow baby area, then hold my arms out.
“When I realised I could float after all and that the reason my legs sank was because I hadn’t submerged enough of my head, I was able to swim for the first time.”
Andrew can now front crawl the entire length of the pool unaided.
“I’m delighted to have managed it, although I’d say it’s still a work-in-progress rather than a completed task,” he said.
“I’m surprised that I found it easier than expected. I still have worries around deep water and do swallow more water than I’d like, but the swim doctors are very supportive and don’t make you do anything you don’t want to.
“It’s a shame I didn’t learn earlier in my life but, now that I have, I want to go on swimming as a way of keeping fit. I also want to get faster.”
Operating under the Better brand, GLL runs swim schools in leisure centres throughout Cornwall.
“We have more than 5000 children from the age of three months upwards currently learning to swim in our pools and plenty of adults too,” said Natallie Carter, GLL Area Swim School Lead. “Lessons run all year round, even during the school holidays, and we get great results from our week-long intensive sessions.
“Over 600 children benefit from school swimming every week and partnership working with social prescribers in St Austell and Bodmin means we can offer funded lessons to adults – as well as adults with learning difficulties at Blantyre Day Centre.
“In the last twelve months we’ve recruited around 30 people to our Award Teacher scheme and another 12 have been upskilled to Certificate Teacher.
“Swimming is such a valuable life skill and, as Andrew has proved, you can learn at any age.”
Lessons can be booked online at here. Use the code JOIN10 for a discount on the first payment. For May half term sessions, use the code SWIMHAPPY.
Swim teacher training opportunities are also available. For information, visit the website.