ABSTRACT
As the second most popular activity for participation among adults in Wales (Sports Council for Wales, 2005) swimming has considerable potential to raise overall participation levels. It has the added advantage of being weightless and therefore appropriate for everyone, regardless of age or disability (Lawton et al., 1995). In 2005 the population of adults aged 15 and over living in Wales was 2.49 million (Office for National Statistics, 2005). Of these, 299,000 people had been swimming in the previous month. Participation data reveal the importance of swimming also for children and young people, among the top six curricular activities for 7-11 year olds and as an extra-curricular and club activity (Sports Council for Wales, 2006a). Among 11-16 year olds, swimming remained popular as an extra-curricular and club activity but was less important in terms of the PE curriculum (Sports Council for Wales, 2006b).
