By Zoe Cooper, STA’s Commercial Director
To celebrate National Fitness Day 2025, a new blog series shares the success of ukactive members that have previously taken part in the day. The series shines a light on the benefits getting involved in National Fitness Day can have for businesses and their audiences.
In this blog from Swimming Teachers Association (STA), we hear from the Commercial Director, Zoe Cooper, as she shares how STA has helped to get more people active on the day, and why days like National Fitness Day are an important part of the organisation’s calendar.
At STA, we’re proud to support National Fitness Day as ukactive’s Strategic Partner for Aquatics, helping inspire people of all ages to get active in the pool and experience the lifelong benefits of swimming and water exercise.
Every year since I can remember, we bring our team together for physical activities that raise awareness of the importance of fitness and staying active for National Fitness Day – it’s a fantastic motivator and a brilliant way to strengthen our own team spirit. We even get our water safety mascot, STAnley, involved (in the office gym!) to help spread the message in a fun and memorable way.
On an educational level, we’ve also hosted free online webinars with GLL, where Professor Greg Whyte OBE and Olympian Keri-anne Payne, have shared expert insight into the many physical and mental benefits of swimming.
For National Fitness Day, we like to shout about all the benefits of swimming because it is a unique form of exercise that supports physical development at every stage of life. For all age groups and abilities, it offers a low-impact, full-body workout that builds core strength, flexibility, balance, and coordination – all while teaching essential water safety skills. For people looking to improve their health and fitness, or who are recovering from injury, the inherent properties of water also mean that swimming or water-based activities provide reduced impact on joints, allowing them to achieve more than they could sustain on land.
Exercising in water also plays a vital role in improving the nation’s health and reducing pressure on the NHS by helping people manage long-term conditions and recover more effectively – often reducing the need for hospital or GP visits. Beyond the physical, swimming is also scientifically proven to boost brain development, improve mood, support better sleep, and help reduce stress and anxiety. It is a fantastic activity that supports overall health and wellbeing for people of all ages.
This year, in line with the new ‘Powered by you!’ theme, we’re going one step further by celebrating National Fitness Day with our “Powered by Swimming Teachers” campaign. We will be encouraging our 20,000+ swimming teacher members to take the plunge and get active with their swimmers by providing free National Fitness Day-themed activity ideas. These lesson plans and games focus on fun, continuous movement and fitness in the water – with activities for all age groups, from water fitness circuits to power games and floating exercises.
National Fitness Day is a chance for businesses and individuals to unite, celebrate staying active and highlight the importance of a healthy lifestyle. For us, it’s naturally all about swimming, because it is more than just a sport – it’s a vital life skill, a fun way to stay active, and a powerful foundation for lifelong health and wellbeing.
For STA, National Fitness Day is an important date in our calendar. It gives us a valuable opportunity to create, engage and promote ideas for our members, swim schools and partners to get involved with and has helped us get more people to get active in the pool.
If you have previously taken part in National Fitness Day and want to share your experience, please get in touch with us by emailing press@ukactive.org.uk.
To keep up to date with all things National Fitness Day, visit www.nationalfitnessday.com and follow our LinkedIn, Instagram and X.
