SLOW SWIMMING

Background European population is steadily increasing in age thanks to a combination of factors, including longer life expectancies and decreasing fertility rates and the advancing age of the “baby boom” population. In this perspective the Slow Swimming project aims to respond to the demands of the adult and senior population who want to live enjoyable lives as they age and offer them the opportunity to stay healthy longer and age well through water sports activities. Objectives The aim of the project was to develop a Slow the Swimming Program, designed on the needs of the elder population and to increase awareness of the importance of health enhancing physical activities. The general objective was to contribute to the social inclusion of senior citizens and people with special needs through sport and swimming, an aerobic activity which can be safely enjoyed by people of all ages as it allows people to move their bodies without bearing their weight. Implementation The partnership- which has experience in organizing and promoting sports activities within their own countries - took part in meetings, shared their knowledge, compared programs, developed a peer to peer training session to be able to design a shared "Slow Swimming" Program. Throughout the project a quality assurance process and dissemination was planned to guarantee the effective implementation of the project and its results. Achievements A Slow Swimming Program tailor made on the needs of elders and people with different abilities. The program consists in the following outputs: • Slow Swimming Format that can be transferred to other countries and sports • Guidelines for the Slow Swimming Program• List of Healthy Lifestyle Seminars• Slow Swimming Event to promote the Program and celebrate the project results