The experiences swimming has given me are what I appreciate the most- much more than the podium finishes. I have met all my closest friends through swimming, and traveled to places across the world that I otherwise would have never seen. Swimming has taught me discipline, leadership, heartbreak and the importance of introspection and life balance. Hours spent in the water gave me invaluable time for personal reflection, peace and quiet in an otherwise hectic everyday life, and time to focus on myself, my goals, and my ambitions- in and out of the water.

The closure of pools and postponement of competition during the COVID pandemic gave me a lot of time to reflect on what an important role swimming has played in my life, and how much being in the water contributed to the person I am today. When we all had to stay at home to stay safe, I realised what a huge hole was left in my life when swimming was not available to me.

I promised myself that once the pandemic was over, I wouldn’t ever take our public swimming pools for granted again. More than that, I was determined to inspire more people to find the joy in swimming that I’ve been lucky enough to experience personally and professionally during my life. PoolsNearMe is an effort to make swimming more accessible to everyone, a place to easily find pools to exercise in, spend time with family, and take time for yourself.