A welcome to Out to Swim in 2024

Thank you for joining or continuing to be a member of Out to Swim in 2024 and for being part of the Out to Swim family. We are delighted you are not only part of a local aquatics club but a national aquatics movement aspiring for ‘aquatics for all’.

About Out to Swim
Out to Swim is unique as the only national inclusive aquatics organisation in the world. We provide friendly, open and inclusive masters aquatics communities across the country, currently in Brighton and Hove, Bristol and London (and we hope more locations join the family soon).

Three decades ago, we originated from, by and for inspiring people in the gay community who had to fight prejudice to even be let into pools. Today, our mission of ‘aquatics for all’ means we welcome anyone wanting to participate in aquatics and who joins us in promoting an all-inclusive community. We are a registered charity with ambitious objectives and we oversee local aquatics clubs and a single national club. What this means for you as a member is that you are part of a much wider aquatics community than you see in the pool. Out to Swim provides aquatic opportunities at every level from recreation to competition. Your membership gives you access to clubs across the country (and the world through our membership to International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics or ‘IGLA). You can take part in different aquatic disciplines, our national club activities including aquatic training camps, and inclusive and accessible aquatic meets and socials. We are also more effective and efficient working as one.

Our activities
Our activities for each club and discipline are published on the relevant club page of our website. We also aim to offer additional sports activities including ‘taster’ sessions of other aquatic activities and land training. It is equally important to us to support social activities - varied, inclusive and open to all - and we try to prioritise at least one weekly social in all our clubs and disciplines. In everything we do, we are also dependent on strong relationships and partnerships. These are mainly with the volunteers who lead our work with energy, coaches (paid and volunteer) who inspire us, pool providers and the lifeguards who keep us safe. Join us in thanking them from time to time.

You and Out to Swim
Anyone joining Out to Swim commits to participate in line with the rules of both Out to Swim and Swim England. We want you to enjoy the time you spend with us and be supported in enjoying and participating in aquatic sport and we ask everyone to make our club a happy, friendly and welcoming place for all members. There are practical things we can all do at every session that supports this including checking in with others - especially new joiners - and showing our best pool etiquette.

The benefits of membership also come with responsibilities and these are best described in our codes of conduct. We publish relevant information on our website and only do this when necessary or if we have an obligation to do so. Please always ask us for help or guidance but, in simple terms, we have the following information to support you or your participation:

• Mental Health and Wellbeing: your health, wellbeing and safety is of the utmost importance to us. This policy outlines that and the resources we recommend including free access to a member assistance programme.

• Scholarship: an important aspect of our charity is using any surplus to support our charitable objectives and members (and potential members) who would otherwise face financial barriers to participation.

• OTS Byelaws: alongside our charity and club constitutions, this includes detailed rules about how we work and make decisions.

• Code of Conduct for Members: this positively describes our standards and expectations and applies to both routine and non-routine activity including socials and social media, competitions and training camps.

• Social Media Policy: social media and how we communicate within and outside the club plays an important role. This policy encourages us to use it carefully. In particular we are asked to only post content that promotes the club as a healthy, safe and positive space and/or to ensure that we have the consent of each Out To Swim member and/or guest depicted in any post.

• Dispute Process: how Out to Swim deals with comments and complaints.

Our plans for 2024
As we look forward in 2024, we want our focus to be on how our clubs not only provide ‘aquatics for all’ but how we realise the sum of our parts as a national movement for inclusion. Our plans for the next three years are therefore all about local sustainability which allows for growth through supporting new clubs to open. We will focus on going beyond a ‘break even’ position and the options open to us as a charity to fundraise and build our resources to support others into our club through our grants programme and remove the financial barriers to participation. We have a role to play in keeping members safe and we will introduce a new approach to welfare and safeguarding and ensure the role that we can play in health and wellbeing is maximised. And, recognising that one of the best bits of our club is participating together, we will make sure our annual plan and our target events are published early and include activities that are inclusive and open to all.

Most of all, we would love you to get involved. We have opportunities across every part of the club - formal and informal - and would love you to help Out to Swim continue to thrive. So do seek us or your local team out and we look forward to splashing with you in 2024.

In pride