Swim4Life seeks new stroke

Children up and down the country have been urged to come up with a new swimming stroke as part of the government’s Swim4Life initiative.

Secretary of state for health Andy Burnham has launched the national competition in the hope of encouraging youngsters to become more active.

Children have been invited to submit their ideas for the new stroke, along with a description of how they came up with it, a picture that was inspirational to them and a suggested name for the new technique.

Mr Burnham, who is the Labour MP for Leigh, said that going to the pool is a “great way” of ensuring that youngsters are active and have fun at the same time.

He also noted that a “huge” number of people have taken the opportunity to enjoy the pastime for free after the launch of a free swimming scheme in April.

“I hope this Swim4Life competition will see even more families take the plunge and head to their local pool to think up an inventive new stroke,” he added.