Omie Dale has fond memories of splashing in the sea as a child, of racing through water parks and swimming in backwaters and rivers.
“There’s so much joy that can be had once you learn to swim, once you’ve abandoned those fears and you can get in the water,” the 25-year-old Dale, who is based in southeast London, tells CNN Sport.
Even though swimming is a joyful experience for Dale, the stark reality is that many Black communities in Britain and the US do not have safe access to swimming lessons and public pools due to historic racism and segregation — a problem that is especially alarming given that, as Dale says, it is “the only sport that can save your life.”
A history of exclusion
The lack of access afforded to Black communities in Britain is what motivated Dale to become a swimming teacher in September 2019.
“I used to work in Kensington (in London) as a lifeguard and some of the richest people live in that borough, but also some of the poorest,” she says. She saw there was a difference when private schools and independent schools would come in and all the kids were able to swim, yet hardly any children of the same age that Dale saw from state schools could swim 25 meters.
“There’s a real class barrier in the sport of swimming,” Dale adds.
She is a director of Swimunity, a collective offering free swimming lessons to women and children in North Kensington, West London.
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