From the River Eamont to the Frenchfield Teaching Pool, Penrith Swimming Club says generations of local people have built a swimming legacy worth protecting
For 145 years, Penrith Swimming Club has been driven by one simple belief: local people should have opportunities through swimming.
Founded in 1881, the Club began at Frenchfield on the River Eamont. The pools, facilities and generations have changed, but the purpose has not.
People learned to swim and stayed to coach others. Swimmers became coaches. Parents became volunteers. Families raised money for facilities. Children grew up and returned with children and grandchildren of their own.
That is what Penrith Swimming Club means by Built by Penrith.
Luke Brown, spokesperson for Penrith Swimming Club, said:
“Penrith Swimming Club has never really been about a building or a swimming programme. It's about people.
“Our founders wanted to create opportunities for local people through swimming. 145 years later, that's still why we exist.
“Every generation has inherited something from the one before and then tried to leave something better for the one coming next.”
Few people demonstrate that better than Ian Powley, Rosie Huggon and Doug Huggon.
Ian is now 86 and joined PSC aged just 14. More than 70 years later, he remains part of the Club after a lifetime of service to swimming.
Rosie first swam with PSC aged four, when the Club was still swimming at Frenchfield in the River Eamont.
She went on to become a National Champion, represent her country in lifesaving, coach and volunteer for decades, serve as President of Cumbria ASA and be inducted into the Cumbria Swimming Hall of Fame.
Her late mother, Jenny Birtle, devoted much of her life to teaching swimming and was also inducted posthumously into the Hall of Fame.
Today, the Birtle family's connection with PSC stretches across an extraordinary five generations, with Rosie's grandchildren now swimming with the Club.
Doug has given nearly 40 years to PSC, including serving as Chief Coach, Chair and Secretary. He helped shape the Club's modern squad structure and has spent decades helping young swimmers achieve their potential.
Brown said:
“Between Ian, Rosie and Doug alone, there is around 175 years of connection to one swimming club.
“Think about that. Thousands of evenings, weekends and hours on poolside, given freely because they wanted somebody else's child to have an opportunity.
“You can't buy that. You can't create it through a contract.
It takes generations to build.”
The contribution of Penrith people went much further than volunteering.
Doug, Rosie and Jenny were among those involved in the huge community fundraising effort towards the creation of the Frenchfield Teaching Pool.
Historical accounts record at least £40,000 raised through those efforts. Today, PSC says the volunteer-run Club pays approximately £40,000 every year to hire facilities at Penrith Leisure Centre.
Brown said:
“Our community didn't sit back and wait for somebody else to provide opportunities. Penrith Swimming Club rolled its sleeves up and created them.
“People raised money for a pool that children they would never meet would one day learn to swim in.
“Those children came. Some raced. Some discovered water polo. Some became coaches. Some brought their own children back.
“That's what community investment looks like.”
SO WHY DOES THIS MATTER NOW?
PSC remains in discussions with GLL, operator of Penrith Leisure Centre, and Westmorland and Furness Council over the future of the Club's introductory swimming provision.
GLL's original proposal was that PSC should stop delivering its Learn to Swim provision at the centre. The previously proposed end date has since been put on hold while discussions continue.
PSC is not asking for GLL's Learn to Swim programme to stop.
It wants both programmes to coexist, giving families choice and allowing more local children to find their way into swimming.
Brown said:
“That's why this has been so emotional for people in our Club.
“After everything generations of Penrith people have put into swimming, the idea that the beginning of that pathway could simply disappear is incredibly difficult to accept.
“We want GLL to succeed. We want Penrith Leisure Centre to thrive. We want more children swimming.
Surely 145 years of community commitment is something to build upon, not something to cull.”
FOI DISCLOSURES
PSC has also seen the Freedom of Information material recently reported by Penrith.Town.
The correspondence shows that on 6th August a senior Westmorland and Furness Council officer expressed support for GLL's proposed approach. The Council subsequently publicly stated that no decision had been made and that both a single GLL beginner offer and separate GLL and PSC offers remained options.
PSC says it is disappointed by the disclosure and will seek further clarification from the Council, but does not want it to overshadow the bigger story.
Brown said:
“Naturally we're disappointed and there are questions we will ask the Council to clarify.
“But we don't want this to become a story about emails and arguments.
We want it to be a story about Penrith and what happens next.
“Our solution remains simple: formalise our provision, allow both programmes to coexist and work together to get more people swimming.”
For PSC, this is ultimately about ensuring the opportunities created by previous generations survive for the next.
Brown concluded:
“Someone gave Ian an opportunity when he was 14. Someone gave Rosie an opportunity when she was four. They spent decades giving opportunities back. Doug has done the same for nearly 40 years.
“Jenny and countless others raised money, taught children, coached swimmers and built facilities because they believed the next generation mattered.
“That's the real story of Penrith Swimming Club.
Local people caring enough about their community to leave something behind.
“GLL is today's operator. Operators, contracts and management structures will change.
Penrith Swimming Club is the constant.
“We want to work with GLL, not against them. There is room for both programmes. Let's formalise it, work together and fill our pools with more children.
“The people before us did their bit.
Now it's our generation's turn to make sure what Penrith built is still here for whoever comes next.”
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