Attending a new club and swimming pool can be daunting. We aim to make our swimming clubs as safe, fun and inclusive as possible so that whatever your disability you can be supported to get into the water.
Here are the answers to our most frequently asked questions. If you have a question that isn’t covered then please contact info@weswim.club and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
No, you don’t need to have any experience. This could be your first time going to a pool. We can help you. Even just bobbing using floats can be relaxing. Or you can do physio exercises along the side of the pool. We have volunteers on hand to give you encouragement and support in the water.
Yes, if you have a disability which prevents you from accessing public swim sessions you can come to WeSwim, whether you can swim already or not. We tailor the level of volunteer support you will receive as appropriate and some of our swimmers are completely independent in the water but still come to build confidence, fitness, and join in with the social side of things.
We welcome people with a wide range of physical and learning disabilities. If you have a disability (this includes long-term health conditions which mean you struggle to carry out daily tasks) and would struggle to access public swim sessions, you are welcome to join us. If you are unsure if you are eligible we recommend you fill out our application form and we can discuss it once a place becomes available.
Swimwear (if possible, avoid wearing a bikini as these don't tend to provide good coverage once you start moving around in the water), towel, toiletries, money for the locker - you can find out what coins the lockers take on our club pages.
We charge £2 per session. This is taken by card payment at the pool. You can pay for a block of sessions at a time or just the session you are attending. If you don’t have access to a debit card, or would find it hard to pay £2, please speak to us.
You will not need to make any additional payment to access the swimming. The only payment you will need to make is the £2 to WeSwim.
Our volunteers help people in the water. This includes things like providing physical support, encouraging your swimming stroke, adjusting floats or helping you to carry out physio exercises that you may have been given. Support is always one to one at the beginning while we understand your ability. As you get more confident, you might not need one to one support.
No, unfortunately not. Our volunteers are not trained in personal care. If you need assistance with getting dressed or undressed, you will need to bring a carer or family member. There are some unisex changing rooms if your carer is of a different gender.
No, our volunteers do not have training in lifting. If you need to be lifted, please bring a carer who is capable of lifting as required.
No. They are there to support you, give you suggestions and ideas to get the most out of your swim sessions but they cannot give you formal swim coaching. If you are interested in competitive swim coaching, please tell us and we can direct you to a club that can help get you on the para swim pathway.
No. Our volunteers come from all walks of life and tend to be keen swimmers themselves. They can give you suggestions and ideas to help your progress with your swimming but they cannot give you formal swimming teaching. Many people have learned to swim by coming to WeSwim and we are delighted about that, but our sessions are not swimming lessons.
We appreciate that appropriate storage of wheelchairs is important. We can keep wheelchairs poolside, but you must ensure the brakes are on and the power is off if it is electric. If you use a walking aid it is ok to bring this poolside with you.
The water temperature is set by the host swimming pool and will be set to their recommended guidelines. This tends to be around 27-28 °C. Unfortunately, we are unable to request custom temperatures.
Our volunteers commit to coming regularly, but will be moved around and work with different people. Whilst we hope you build a friendship with a few, they will be rotated and you won’t have the same person every week.
Word of mouth is the best way to get fantastic volunteers, so please do spread the word. They will be more than welcome, but we will need to perform a DBS check and carry out training before they can join.
They can find out more information and apply to become a volunteer here.
We are really happy they want to attend. Please ask them to fill out an application and we’ll check what support they need so we can get them in the water.
We ask that carers don’t get in the water unless absolutely necessary. We have a team of trained volunteers who are ready to support you in the water. We can discuss this if you think you might need your carer in the water with you.
Absolutely, but we do have a limit to the number of swimmers we can support each week, so you need to book onto sessions in advance. If you have said you will come, and then can’t make it, please give us as much notice as possible, so that someone else can take your slot.
We understand that things come up so please just let us know with plenty of notice so that someone else can take your slot.
We ask you to cancel with as much notice as possible. We know that occasionally unavoidable things come up. Please let us know if you can’t come as soon as you know. At this time there is no penalty for cancelling at late notice but if we notice that you are doing it a lot we will get in touch to discuss.
We have a lot of demand for WeSwim sessions. At the moment it is taking us 3-6 months to get people into the pool. We appreciate this is a long time and we are looking to open new sessions as we secure funding for them. Once you fill out the application form we will be in touch as soon as a spot opens up.
We ask people to attend one club only. Please pick the most appropriate club for you. If you want to switch to another club please get in touch so we can let you know when there is availability.
Unfortunately, we cannot offer transport to and from the pool at the moment.
We support swimmers over the age of 18 years old. There are other clubs in London that provide services for children.
If you are concerned about the behaviour of a WeSwim swimmer or volunteer you should follow the WeSwim safeguarding process, details are here. If you are unsure of the best course of action please contact the WeSwim Safeguarding Officer: tash@weswim.club.