The Aqua Pod - Scottish Swimming Podcast · Scottish Swimming

Episode 36: Scottish Swimming Hustings Part 1

·53 min·3 clips

Marie Todd says the Scottish Government has committed to school swimming free for everyone.

1. The Aqua Pod's Scottish Swimming hustings episode centers on Scottish swimming, school lessons, and the future of pools in Scotland. 2. Heather Dewar hosts the event, and panelists Councillor Aude Bubaka-Calder, Lorna Slater, Liz Smith, Marie Todd, and Neil Bibby speak because they represent local government, the Scottish Greens, the Conservatives, the SNP, and Scottish Labour. 3. The episode asks what government should do about shrinking access to pools, rising costs, and water safety for children. 4. Heather Dewar says Scotland has 295 public swimming pool venues, with 122 over 38 years old and nearing the end of their lifespan. 5. She also says the Scottish budget now provides funding for school swimming through a learn-to-swim offer for primary schools. 6. Heather Dewar warns that thousands of secondary-school children have already missed out because local authorities stripped swimming out. 7. Aude Bubaka-Calder says she is the only voice on the panel from local government and argues that councils must keep the lights on, the doors open, and programmes working week by week. 8. She says she learned to swim in Belgium from P1 to S6 and that swimming badges, medals, and confidence stayed with her. 9. Lorna Slater says 90% of Canadian-born people can swim, while about 20% of newcomers to Canada cannot swim. 10. She contrasts that with her claim that roughly 33% of UK adults cannot swim the length of a 25-metre pool. 11. Liz Smith says she chaired the cross-party group on sport in the Parliament for 13 years and thanks Scottish Swimming for a campaign with over 10,000 signatures. 12. She says swimming builds resilience in young people after Covid, especially for children with anxiety, low confidence, and low self-esteem. 13. Marie Todd says the Scottish Government has committed to school swimming free for everyone, building on work by Scottish Swimming to refine pilots and a framework. 14. Neil Bibby says his own children, now 10 and 8, were on waiting lists when pools closed during Covid and could not get lessons. 15. Duncan Scott says the recent increase of the sports budget by 40 million and dedicated multi-year funding for school swimming were welcome, but he still warns that pools in Dundee, Shetland, the Borders, and Inverclyde are under threat. 16. He also says school swimming is the only way to guarantee fair and equal access to basic swimming and water safety for all children across Scotland. 17. The tone is formal and policy-driven, with repeated thanks, interruptions, and direct challenges from the floor. 18. The format mixes opening statements, audience questions, and back-and-forth challenge on costs, delivery, and capital funding. 19. Best for listeners interested in Scottish sport policy, school swimming, and local government finance. 20. Skip it if you want a light, story-led episode without policy debate.

As heard by us

A steady take on swimming that treats pools as public infrastructure, not just sport.

This episode treats swimming less like a pastime than a local system that has to be paid for, staffed, and kept in working order. It stays with pool bills, ageing buildings, and the people needed to keep public access safe, which gives the argument some weight without pushing it…

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Why you'd press play

You want a clear-eyed political hustings on keeping swimming pools open.

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