Young Reuben Makes a Splash with Winning Design

“Seeing young people like Reuben develop through the stages is exactly what the programme is all about.”

Duncan Scott OBE
Olympic Gold Swimming Champion

A Glasgow schoolboy has made waves after winning a national competition to design a commemorative swimming cap celebrating the 10th anniversary of Scotland's Learn to Swim programme.

Reuben Norbury, 11, who attends swimming lessons at Glasgow Club Maryhill, received the first cap bearing his winning design before his final lesson of the year, marking the culmination of his own journey through the programme.

And there was an extra surprise for Reuben when he saw some of the country’s best young swimmers sporting his cap at the weekend’s National & Open Short Course Swimming Championships held at Edinburgh’s Royal Commonwealth Pool.

Delivered in partnership by Scottish Swimming and Scottish Water, the Learn to Swim National Framework has supported more than 210,000 children and adults across Scotland since its launch in 2015.

Now in the Club Ready stage of the programme, Reuben began swimming in Swim Skills 1 and has shown unwavering commitment and progress, a journey echoed in his cap design, which captures the theme of learning, confidence, and fun in the water.

On being presented with his cap with his proud family watching on, Reuben said: “It’s great to see it. I didn’t think my drawing was all that good, but my mum said it was great. I had been studying the ‘Great Wave’ {a woodblock print created by Katsushika Hokusai in the 1830s} at school and that’s where I got the idea. It took me about a day to do because I messed up the first attempt. I thought there were going to be drawings that were way better than mine, but I won, and it feels really good.“

Reuben’s artwork features bright blues and pinks and vibrant yellows, with swimmers enjoying the sea. The number 10 is drawn on the crest of the wave to mark the programme’s anniversary.
   
Reuben’s mum, Jane, said: “I’m so proud and pleased for him. He’s always drawing, and he’s really curious about lots of different topics and you can see it in his artwork. We brainstormed some ideas, and he liked the idea that the kids were so good they were able to enjoy swimming in the sea.“

The cap design competition launched during Learn to Swim Month earlier this year invited youngsters enrolled in the programme to express what swimming means to them. A judging panel, including Olympic medallist Duncan Scott and Paralympic champion Toni Shaw, ambassadors for Learn to Swim, selected Reuben’s colourful and creative artwork from hundreds of high-quality entries.

Duncan Scott said: “It’s been an incredible ten years for the Learn to Swim programme, and Reuben’s design is a brilliant celebration of that. It’s vibrant, energetic and really captures the spirit of swimming. Seeing young people like Reuben develop through the stages is exactly what the programme is all about.”

Paralympic star Toni Shaw added: “The standard of entries was amazing, but Reuben’s stood out for its creativity and meaning. It shows not only how much fun swimming can be, but also the sense of pride and accomplishment that comes with it.”

Reuben was presented with a limited-edition cap featuring his design, along with a goodie bag to mark his win. The design will also be reproduced in small quantities and shared across Learn to Swim providers, ensuring his creation is worn by other young swimmers around the country.

And at the weekend’s national swim meet in Edinburgh, Reuben’s cap was worn by the likes of Dean Fearn, World Junior Champion in the 50m butterfly and Olympic and Commonwealth Games swimmer Lucy Hope during exhibition relays at the end of the event.

The competition marked the culmination of a landmark year for the Learn to Swim programme, which is now delivered by 38 leisure trusts and aquatic providers in 167 pools across the country. Around 84,000 children and adults currently take part each week.

Peter Farrer, Chief Operating Officer at Scottish Water, said: “Reuben’s winning design is a great and colourful example of what the Learn to Swim programme is all about. Supporting Learn to Swim is about more than just helping individuals to learn to swim and how to be safer in and around water – it’s an amazing opportunity to inspire younger generations to build confidence and a lifelong connection with the water." 

John Lunn, Chief Executive of Scottish Swimming, added: “This initiative was designed to inspire creativity and celebrate progress. Reuben’s design does both beautifully, and it’s brilliant to see his journey reflected in such a meaningful way.”

Reuben says he’s not sure he’ll be the next Duncan Scott, but that learning to swim has been fun and important.

“I was scared when I started, but the teachers said I’d be fine, and then I got good at it, and now I come here every Monday,” he said. “The teachers are all really kind and have helped me get better. Now I feel I can swim safely with my friends, and it’s lots of fun.”

And his mum says she’s happy she signed him up for Learn to Swim early on.

“I knew I wouldn’t be able to watch him every second when he’s swimming but he’s so confident now I worry a lot less. He loves swimming on holiday, and he’s even learning to dive now. The teachers deserve a lot of credit; they really help grow the children’s confidence.”

Hazel Pringle is the swim coordinator for Glasgow Life in Maryhill: “In Scotland, we're surrounded by all sorts of bodies of water, so swimming is a vital skill. It's great to watch their little personalities grow from a very young age and how their confidence grows as they go through the programme.

“I started as a swim teacher in 2011, and it just keeps getting busier. I get lots of emails daily asking if we've got any spaces or if we've got a waiting list that the kids can go on. Parents will try to get kids involved early because they know how vital a skill it is to have.” 

With ambitions to reach a further 50,000 young swimmers by 2028, the Learn to Swim Framework continues to support a new generation of safe, confident swimmers.

For more information about the Learn to Swim programme, visit: Scottish Swimming