An East Lancashire swimming club says they want to make the sport more accessible for everybody following a probe into its governing body.

A review into Swim England, the national body for swimming clubs across the country, found an “urgent need” to tackle racism within swimming, with many people from ethnically diverse parts of the country feeling like they did not belong.

It was also found extreme competitiveness resulted in an “ongoing and systemic” culture of fear at all levels of the sport, proving to be a major threat to its future.

Steven Dicken, who is on the committee at Burnley Bobcats swimming club, outlined the club’s policies and shared his thoughts on the Swim England review.

He said: “We have a financial hardship policy which is on a case-by-case basis.

"If individuals come into the club and want to get into swimming, we look at ways to support them financially, whether that’s through grants or bursaries that reduce the amount they pay for training.

“We’ve had swimmers who have had problems such as ADHD or autism, and there are swimmers at the club that are part of the financial hardship policy that are being supported as well.

“I would urge people to get in touch and we can talk to people about how we can help more.”

The review, which was commissioned by Swim England in 2023 and made 21 recommendations, shone a light on the issues within the sport and was something Steve felt could be a positive move overall.

He said: “It’s good these things happened because it gives people the opportunity to look at what can be improved and look at ways clubs and the sport can get better.

“Society changes all the time and what’s expected of clubs and people does change, so it’s good to get a representative view of the feedback.

“Knowing there are issues and knowing there are areas that can be improved gives you the opportunity to go out and do something about it.

“I think even though there are negative findings, the outcomes can certainly be shown to be positive in the future.”

The full report of the findings of the Swim England review can be viewed on its website.

For more information on Burnley Bobcats, visit their website.