A new swim club has been launched in Whanganui aiming to stem the flow of young teens leaving the sport.
John Hay, who has no specific background in swimming, is the main driver of the newly-formed River City Swim Club operating out of the Splash Centre five days a week.
He, and a few other parents with children keen on swimming, have gathered to hire a lane at the Splash centre between 6am and 7.30am, Monday to Friday for swimmers to train.
The first training session was held on Monday.
"Whanganui used to have three or four competitive swim clubs operating here, but today only one exists," Hay said.
"It's healthy for a town our size to have options.The new club will not compete with services being provided by the Splash Centre, or the existing club.