Hundreds of People from the local communities around Coventry and Nuneaton have visited one of the region’s most popular leisure attractions for the first time thanks to a groundbreaking community swimming initiative.
Around 600 men and women have taken the plunge at The Wave Waterpark in the city centre as part of a new initiative led by youth and community group Rising Stars to encourage people from more communities to get active in the city’s public places.
A group of 12 volunteers from the Coventry-based organisation welcomed 594 people from a variety of communities aged one to 74, who were given exclusive use of The Wave across male-only and female-only sessions supported by staff from CV Life, which operates the popular venue in New Union Street.
Four out of five participants were visiting the indoor water park, which opened in 2019 and welcomes more than 180,000 visitors each year, for the first time.
Ayaz Maqsood, chair of Rising Stars, said the community swimming sessions are helping more people become familiar with the city’s “incredible sports and leisure facilities” but also play an important role in sharing community knowledge to help establishments cater for cultural differences when swimming or playing sports.
People from a range of cultural backgrounds praised staff at CV Life, who helped make small adjustments to for both sessions.
A key adjustment for the female-only session was to ensure there were window coverings so women and girls felt safe to enjoy the facility.
A number of people commented on how welcoming the sessions were.
“We have been constantly asked about hiring out the Wave Waterpark for the community, so it was great to welcome nearly 600 people over two days – most of whom had never previously used the facilities or been swimming with other people from their community before,” Ayaz said.
“It’s been a perfect example of partnership working for a true community benefit, and we are incredibly grateful to the staff at The Wave for their support in helping more people access these spaces, while gaining some crucial learnings so more and more people feel confident visiting them.”
Rising Stars has helped thousands of individuals, mostly young people, access educational and recreational opportunities since it was established in 2004.
Kath Healion, head of operations at CV Life, said partnerships with the likes of Rising Stars were vital in ensuring people from all backgrounds felt comfortable using the city’s sports and leisure facilities.
She said: “Our venues across the city are central to many of our communities, so it’s been a real privilege to work alongside Rising Stars to give hundreds of individuals the chance to visit us for the first time.
“It’s also been incredibly valuable in terms of how we can adapt our sessions and the practical steps we can take to ensure as many people as possible feel comfortable getting active.”
In a survey of attendees, 97% stated they had a good to excellent time and would return.
A participant in the female-only session said: “I am a single parent and find it hard to take my two kids to activities due to costs and time.
“I am so grateful to everyone who helped make this happen, we had such a great time. It was great that we could do this as a community.”
Ameera Ashique, 14, said: “For ages I have walked past The Wave building and wanted to have a go at the waterpark, but unfortunately my parents have always been too busy.
“When I found out Rising Stars was organising a session at the event I told my mum, who made time, and I was also able to bring my aunties and cousins. We had the most awesome time – I can’t wait to do it again.”
Mohammed Khan, who took part in the male-only session, said: “I have three sons and it is difficult to get all the boys out to do an activity together.
“I find it difficult to get the time to arrange activities for us all, this was so straight forward to sign up to as we have done Rising Stars activities before. It was good that I could spend time with my two-year-old whilst the older boys enjoyed the ‘big boy’ rides.”
To find out more about Rising Stars visit rising_stars_ycg on Instagram
For more information about CV Life visit cvlife.co.uk/about-cv-life