Birtle's Sport

04/09/2026

POWERED BY VOLUNTEERS

Penrith Swimming Club doesn't have a team of paid staff behind it.

It has something pretty special instead.

Volunteers who care enormously about their club.

People giving their evenings, weekends and spare time to coach, organise, officiate and now fight to protect the future of a club they are passionate about.

While we continue challenging the proposals from GLL/Better and Westmorland and Furness Council, those same volunteers are getting everything ready to welcome our swimmers back.

Wednesday 2 September – Back to Pool.

This club has been here for generations. We're determined to make sure it's here for generations to come.

Sign our petition to protect what generations before us have created: https://c.org/q8M4JYmsyS

04/09/2026

03/09/2026

💙 1,700+ SIGNATURES! CAN WE REACH 2,000?

More than 1,700 people have now signed our petition to stand with Penrith Swimming Club.

The message from our community is getting louder:

Protect our pathway. Protect our volunteers. Protect the future of Penrith Swimming Club.

We are now just 300 signatures away from 2,000.

Can Penrith get us there before Monday’s public meeting?

✍️ SIGN IT. SHARE IT. ASK ONE MORE PERSON TO SIGN.

HELP US REACH 2,000 SIGNATURES⁠: https://c.org/WvgTQF7t29

📢 PUBLIC MEETING – COME AND STAND WITH US
📅 Monday 24 August | 6pm
📍 Unit 2, 19–24 Friargate, Penrith

1,700 voices and counting. Let’s make it 2,000. 💙

03/09/2026

03/09/2026

Do you recognise any of these faces?

Back in 2016, these youngsters represented Penrith Swimming Club at the Diddy League Grand Final.

Diddy League is a friendly Cumbrian club competition that gives many young swimmers their first experience of competitive swimming.

They were only 9, 10, 11 and 12 years old.

Ten years later, those youngsters are now around 19 to 21.

Some may still swim. Some may be working or studying. Some may be involved in completely different sports. Some may be coaching or volunteering.

But once upon a time, they were the next generation of Penrith swimmers taking their first steps into competition.

Who will be standing in their place ten years from now?

That's the question we have to ask when considering proposals affecting the beginning of our pathway.

Without young swimmers entering the club, developing and progressing, eventually there aren't Penrith swimmers reaching competitions like Diddy League.

We want Penrith represented for generations to come.

Protect the beginning. Protect the pathway. Protect the future.

Please sign and share our petition. https://c.org/Sq6bFDGKtx

03/09/2026

Every competitive swimmer was once a beginner.

Nobody simply arrives in our competitive squads.
Before the races, medals, personal bests and team competitions comes something much simpler.

Learning.
Learning to float. Learning to kick. Learning the strokes. Building confidence.

Discovering that swimming might be something you love.

At Penrith Swimming Club, that isn't the end of the journey.

It's the beginning of it.

Our introductory swimming feeds into Development and from there swimmers can
progress through our competitive pathway.

Some will compete seriously. Some will swim for fitness. Some will eventually join Masters or Water Polo. Some will become coaches and volunteers.

But they all need somewhere to start.

That's why the proposals affecting our Learn to Swim provision matter to the whole club, not simply our youngest swimmers.

If you protect the beginning, you protect everything that can follow.

Please support our campaign and sign and share the petition. https://c.org/Sq6bFDGKtx

PROTECT THE PATHWAY.

01/09/2026

THANK YOU, PENRITH.

More than 60 people at our public meeting.

Over 2,000 petition signatures.

Businesses displaying our posters.

Families sharing our campaign.

Former swimmers telling their stories.

And now Penrith Town Council standing behind Penrith Swimming Club.

What has happened over the last few weeks has shown just how much this club means to our town.

But our introductory swimming provision is still not secured.

So please don't stop now.

Keep signing. Keep sharing. Keep talking about it.

Together, we can protect this pathway for the next generation.

Sign our petition:
https://c.org/Sq6bFDGKtx

Watch the public meeting and hear directly from our community: https://youtu.be/d1VbnBZfyPA?si=PzsdKieBD7pEeVCZ

145 years. One community. One club.