Asmita, 55, who was born in Tanzania, contracted polio at the age of 2 years, resulting in curvature of the spine and reduced ability to walk unaided.Asmita, 55, who was born in Tanzania, contracted polio at the age of 2 years, resulting in curvature of the spine and reduced ability to walk unaided.
When her family moved to England in 1975 she attended Aspley Wood School which focused on supporting children with special needs and it’s there that Asmita learnt to swim as part of her 1:1 physiotherapy sessions.
“I wondered how I was going to be able to swim if I couldn’t use my legs”
With her physiotherapist’s help she built up her upper body strength and was soon regularly swimming at Beechdale Baths and taking part in sponsor swims to raise funds for the school.
She stopped swimming when she began college, studying English, and later started as a trainee machinist at Marathon Knitwear, as part of a Youth Training Scheme working there for 17 years
It was her son, Christopher, who is also a lifeguard at Clifton, who encouraged her to start swimming again and rekindled her passion for it. Asmita now swims five mornings a week utilising her Flexible Fitness Swim and Health Suite membership to the maximum with regular sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi sessions too.
Christopher regularly joins her in the pool before work and along with other staff, is there to help with getting in and out of the water.
“I’ve lost over a stone in weight and feel better for it, my mood is brighter, I have less stress on my shoulders and I’m loving life!”
Volunteering has always played a large part in Asmita’s life, helping out at Aspley Wood School for over 16 years and she’s now heavily involved with the Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service.
Having successfully completed a Level 1 Swimming Teacher Certificate as part of the InstructAbility project, you will probably see her poolside at Clifton, volunteering on Mondays and she’s hoping that she may be able to take her new skills further and look for paid teaching work in the future.
“Age is no barrier to learning and I love helping people and giving something back.”
Things haven’t always been easy for Asmita and she’s overcome many obstacles in life, but she says these have only served to make her stronger and more determined to grab every opportunity to enjoy life.
“Go for it, give yourself a chance to try something new and don’t give up!”
If you live in Nottingham City and have a registered disability you can save up to 50% discount off activities, so why not join Active Nottingham today?
say Jack who plays Visually Impaired Tennis at Nottingham Tennis Centre.
“Being able to play the sport I love, is so important to me”
I’ve played Visually Impaired Tennis nearly all my life after my Dad searched for a sport we could play together when I was 4 years old and I now regularly compete on the tournament circuit, something that I love, as I get to meet up with the other players, many of who are also now my friends.
My last regional competition was on the 15th April at Billesley Indoor Tennis Centre, Birmingham, where I competed in the B3 Category, up against other players from across the Country. For the tournaments nearer home, I tend to travel alone to, but if I’m in London or Newcastle then Dad comes too and we’ll stay overnight.
VI Tennis is played on a smaller court than usual, with a lower net and uses an audible ball so we can hear it bounce. Depending on our level of sight, we’re allowed up to three bounces before returning the ball across the net
People often ask me how I can hit the ball, but as a Category B3 I do have partial sight, so with the added noise from the bell, it’s not impossible and I also get two bounces before I have to return the ball too, which obviously helps.
The Friday night session (6pm – 7pm) at Nottingham Tennis Centre is the only visually impaired one in Nottinghamshire, as far as I know, and the facilities are great. Without it, I’d have to travel much further to train and that probably wouldn’t work for me, as I need to fit it in with studying at Derby University.
Other than playing tennis, I love walking and try and keep as fit and active as I can, as having a strong core can help with balance. It’s not just about that though, it’s also about how good exercising makes me feel and competing in the sport I love playing really makes me happy.
The Tennis Foundation are working really hard to promote VI Tennis and for the first time this year they’re planning to host three Junior VI Tennis Festivals in 2018. The nearest one is at Loughborough University Tennis Centre. They’re open to children and young people of any ability who are blind or partially sighted and only cost £10.00 per person. There’s also the added benefit that if you’ve not attended before you’ll even get a free racket, so why not join me and starting playing VI Tennis.
Recently a fellow student and friend, Vincent Chan, created this video about VI Tennis and I hope it will inspire other people to come along to the Friday night sessions at Nottingham Tennis Centre.
Visit our website for more information about disability discounts and memberships.
Rayah started swimming before her first birthday, often going to the baby pool at Ken Martin Leisure Centre with her family on a Sunday – so she’s been in and out of the water from a young age.
Her dad Ramnik is an Active Nottingham, and Rayah is following in his footsteps, having already completed an obstacle fun run with her dad as well as taking part in Race for Life with her mum too. Rayah enjoys being very active.
After starting with Nottingham Swim School this year, Rayah has just completed her first Duckling badge – getting used to the water and gaining some initial experience of being in a class environment without her parents.
Swim School is a great start for young children to get involved with fitness, and it helps build their confidence and self-esteem ready for other challenges later in life.
At this level, the emphasis is on the development of basic swimming skills and water confidence through fun and games. The Swim England Duckling awards 1–4 are used within these classes. Rayah has built the confidence to be able to jump in the pool, hold her breath, paddle and kick and show the correct form using floats.
Ramnik didn’t want Rayah to be afraid of water like some of the less capable swimmers in his class when he was at school – he wanted her to feel comfortable with water from an early age. He’s keen for Rayah to have fitness and nutrition as part of her life and routine, rather than for it to become a challenge in the future.
Rayah loves blowing bubbles underwater and playing with floats and splashing around – it’s really built her confidence and makes her feel happy.
What makes Swim School so great for Rayah is that she had the same teacher for Notts Gym Tots as she now does for swimming, meaning that there’s already a respectful relationship.
All the staff are friendly and helpful. Dad, Ramnik, appreciates the email portal updates as they are convenient for him to check timings and Rayah’s progress at any time of the day.
It’s great to see her develop her skills in the pool each week!
Swimming at Ken Martin Leisure Centre is convenient and local. Rayah’s made friends and knows people in her swimming class from school – her parents have also got to know the other parents there, making the poolside a lot more sociable!
Rayah has just completed her first 10-week block and is eager to get back in the water for her next block of lessons after the school holidays. She can’t wait to start.
If you’d like your little one to learn to swim, visit Nottingham Swim School or visit your nearest leisure centre.
“She’s like a little mermaid, she’d sooner be underneath the water than on top.” Mummy’s little mermaid
When Mum Leanne, a keen swimmer when she was younger, took Isabelle to her first Water Babies Class at Beechdale Swimming Pool, aged just 8 weeks old, she hoped her little baby would like it. But Isabelle did more than – she loved it from the start!
Isabelle learned really early on to hold her breath underwater and kick back to the side, which are some of the key safety skills taught at the class and by gaining water confidence at such an early age Isabelle was able to swim 5 metres by the age of just 2 years old!
She started Nottingham Swim School lessons in August 2015 and has since gone from strength to strength, building stamina and learning the right techniques. She achieved her 400-metre badge at just 5 and since then has progressed to being able to swim 2200 metres.
She can confidently swim butterfly, but Mum says the breaststroke took a little longer to get the timings right, due to the co-ordination needed.
Her favourite part of her lessons are swimming backstroke, diving, practising race starts and mastering the tumble turn, which has proved invaluable for her Individual Medley Time Trails at Northern Swimming Club, which she joined in January 2017.
Along with attending her regular Swim School lesson at Clifton Leisure Centre she also enjoys the Swim School Quackers sessions where she’s learning invaluable lifesaving skills including how to swim fully clothed.
Being a member of Northern SC, means she now trains 3 times a week at Harvey Hadden Sports Village which she loves as she enjoys being with the other swimmers, some of who are family too.
“As parents, it’s important that both our girls are safe around water, especially when we go on holiday, so we can relax a little.
Proud of her achievements
Practising diving on holiday
She recently took time trails in 100m freestyle, 50m fly, 100m breaststroke and 100m individual medley and swims with swimmers at the club meets who are much older than her.
She thoroughly enjoyed the recent fun gala at Harvey Hadden in March, as she can’t compete in galas at club level until she’s 8, something she can’t wait for.
Outside of swimming Isabelle loves singing, dancing and being on stage, but you’ll also find her in the pool having fun with friends, especially as she can SWIM FOR FREE as a Nottingham Swim School member.
Being active is important for their health too, they work hard at school and exercising is a great way to wind down. When Isabelle comes out the pool, she’s really happy with herself for what she’s achieved.
If you’d like your little one to learn to swim, visit Nottingham Swim School or visit your nearest leisure centre.
