New swimming lessons that are female-only have become available at a leisure centre in Coventry. AT7 Leisure Centre in Bell Green has started swimming lessons for women who prefer to exercise or swim around other females.

CV Life, the organization which runs the venue, believes swimming should be accessible to everyone. Nicola George, from CV Life who has helped put the program together, spoke about the importance of the lessons.

She said: “We hope by holding these female-only bases sessions more and more women will feel they are able to come along and be at ease in the water." She continued: "Obviously the nature of swimming often means wearing less which can make some women feel vulnerable - particularly if others swimming are male or if the lifeguard or instructor is a man.''

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Nicola said that some women have been put off swimming in the past as they did not feel comfortable. She said: ''We really hope that now AT7 will be somewhere women will come if they are looking at getting back into swimming or learning to do so for the first time.''

The swimming sessions started last month and are being led by women from the local community many of whom learned to swim themselves last year following a community outreach program from CV Life, Go Foleshill, and Positive Youth Foundation (PYF) With a general lack of female swim teachers and lifeguards, this meant local pools have often been inaccessible for some people from the community.

So in partnership with PYF, CV Life made swimming lessons specifically tailored so women could swim in a suitable environment. Now having access to the pool and feeling more at ease the women are now thriving in the water, with many not just learning to swim but earning lifeguard and swim teacher qualifications.

Nicola spoke of the journey the women have been on and how she has seen their progression. She said: "Just over a year ago most of them either couldn’t swim or hadn’t been in the water since they were children.

''Now they are helping women in the same position they were in themselves.'' Mina, one of the women who started at the group last year is now a qualified lifeguard and spoke of how swimming has had a huge impact on people in the community.

She said: “It has had a huge impact on so many women in the community regardless of faith. It keeps you active, even if for many it is outside of their comfort zone.” She added: “One of the ladies at the session came to me and said she feels so much more at ease in the female-only sessions - having previously attended mixed public sessions she had felt uncomfortable and left not feeling good about herself.

Female-only swim sessions take place each week - find out when here. Find out more about female-only swimming lessons here.

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