A learn-to-swim programme organised by the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation is allowing more than 300 local school children to learn the life-saving skill of swimming.
On Friday 16th September, Secretary General of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation Gareth Wittstock visited the educational facilities of the Sospel swimming pool with other dignitaries.
During the month of September 2022, the Foundation is partnering with the Town of Sospel and the French Swimming Federation (FFN) for the implementation of the ‘Sospel Natation Azur’ project, which aims to teach swimming to Sospel schoolchildren as well as those from the towns of Breil-sur-Roya and Moulinet.
The project will allow nearly 300 children from kindergarten to 6th grade to acquire the minimum skills to ensure their safety in the water during the 10 sessions, and to perform the ‘Sauv’Nage’ test approved by the French Swimming School and the FFN.
On Friday, 70 children from the CP, CE1, CE2 and CM1 classes of the Sospel school were able to enjoy the swimming lessons, supervised by FFN-certified swimming instructors.
The outdoor swimming pool of Sospel, closed for three years, was reopened and renovated in 2022. It will allow for swimming classes to be held on a more regular basis in conjunction with schools and leisure centres.
Normally open in the months of July and August only, the swimming pool will open in the month of June 2023 also for a wider reach of the project.
The project is inspired by the program ‘La Turbie Natation Azur’ which, since 2014, teaches swimming to young children before the beginning of summer at the Princess Charlene Municipal Swimming Pool of La Turbie, thanks to a partnership between the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, the City of La Turbie, the Côte d’Azur Committee and the FFN.
Photo above credit: Eric Mathon, Prince’s Palace