'Off sofas into swimming pools'
2008-06-06 20:09
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London - The British government wants to give everyone free access to swimming pools by the 2012 London Olympics.
More than 1 500 publicly owned swimming pools will be encouraged to allow free entry next year to over 60-year-olds, under an action plan launched on Friday.
A swimming fund worth £140m has been created to help get the public more active before the London Games, the government said, with the intention of extending the scheme further.
"Offering free swimming is just the kind of imaginative action required to make us a more active nation by 2012," said Andy Burnham, the secretary of state for culture, media and sports.
"We have chosen swimming, because its appeal is universal," Burnham said.
"It is the perfect antidote to the couch-potato culture."
- AP