Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month – October 2022

October is Black History Month and with this in mind we have chosen Alice Dearing as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month.

Alice is a British swimmer, specialising in open water events.  She started swimming at the age of 4, began club swimming at 8 years old and started competitive racing a year later.  She had many youth and national successes before winning World and European Junior marathon swimming events in her teens. 

In June 2021, she qualified to represent Great Britain in the 2020 Olympics making her the first black swimmer to do so.

In 2020 she co-founded the Black Swimming Association.  The charity was founded to encourage swimming among BME communities in Britain and has the support of Swim England.

Alice is also an ambassador for Soul Cap, a swimming cap designed to fit over and protect dreadlocks, afros, weaves, hair extensions and thick and curly hair.  Although originally banned for use in the Olympics it has recently been approved by FINA swimming’s governing body for use in top level competitions making a huge step forward in the sport becoming more inclusive.

To find out more about Black History Month see here

To find out more about Soul Cap see here

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-62765571

To find out more about Alice see here https://www.wsportsalliance.com/alice-dearing