'Why is there no one who looks like me? 
Why am I not hearing about Black people swimming?'

After coming to terms with her friend’s death during COVID, writer, gender advisor, actor, and filmmaker Catherine Joy White sought solace from being in the water.

Catherine grew up as a competitive swimmer. However, as a teenager without Black swimming role models, she transitioned to running around the time puberty began, when she became conscious of, ‘the hair thing and the body image, all of that stuff.’ 

After almost a decade of avoiding being in the water, ‘because it was something I loved and it was something I was so good at, I actually developed a bit of anxiety….I think, because it brought back memories of what I'd given up’, a blue space near her home beckoned her attention: 

'I was walking past the lake, and I just had this absolute urge to get back in that water. And that's the first proper swim I'd done, probably for close to 10 years at that point.' 

The experience of reclaiming her connection with the water and her love of swimming led to a bigger question.  

A Swim England statistic at the time stated that 95% of Black adults didn't swim. As of this article, the statistic has grown to 97%. 

'This is the thing that is saving my mental health right now. Getting in this water each day is the single thing keeping me going. So having that, but realising that other people didn't have access to water in that way and wondering what can we do to change that.' 

Drawing on her connection with open water, Catherine wanted to explore the Black female experience of swimming, womanhood, reconnection, and freedom. 

And so Swim Sistas was born.

Transforming water into poetry

Swim Sistas explores how four Black British women spanning three generations have connected and reclaimed their relationship with water.

They share their journeys with swimming and how the beauty of simply being in the water provides a sense of freedom.

‘My favourite thing to do whenever I'm swimming is to lie back and float; it is a feeling of literally being on top of the water. There's something about that. It’s magical. So I was like, what does that say to us about being a woman as well? It's kind of looking at how water can help, and water can heal us, but it’s also a metaphor for what life also throws at you.’ 

After hours of editing and threading the content together, the water appeared as a character in itself, creating a beautiful, poetic documentary style that Oscar-nominated actor Naomie Harris partially narrates. ‘The poetry, in giving a voice to the water as the sort of narrator, also helped structure it in the end, as well as taking it to another level,’ explains Catherine.

‘When I swim, I always feel my most free, and I feel my most confident. When I get out of the water, I feel like I can achieve anything, do anything. 
The things that can weigh me down, if I let them, don't exist for me. If I can get in for a swim at least a few times a week (and it used to be every day!), then I know I will be okay. So I was interested in what that relationship between water and womanhood looks like. And I think also then there were sort of interesting themes that came up that just were speaking to everyone.'

Taking a deeper dive

The film features Olympian Alice Dearing, rising athlete Lexie Sandiford, ex-championship rugby player and star of BBC show The Traitors Jasmine Boatswain, and 54-year-old first-time swimmer Roni Bruno. 

As Catherine says, each inspirational cast member 'could have had a doc just about them', and the same could be said for this article. 

As of 2025, only three Black swimmers have ever represented GB. Just one of them is a woman, Alice Dearing. She is an Olympic Marathon Swimmer and global diversity advocate, and the first Black woman to swim for Great Britain at the Olympic Games 2021. 

In 2022, she was awarded The Sunday Times Changemaker Of The Year award, and in 2023, she was announced No.3 on the BBC Woman’s Hour Power list. ‘I think I probably cried the first time I met her. She did feel like a role model… I just admire her so much for what she's done.’ Catherine explains the huge impact Alice has had as a Black woman and professional swimmer. 

Alice shares how she feels about being part of the film:
‘It was an honour to be a part of Swim Sistas. Catherine is such an incredible storyteller, and her passion for swimming has led to some of the most beautiful and impactful projects. To have my story told alongside three other beautiful Black women was an opportunity I’ll cherish forever.’

Lexie is 14 years old, and her goal is to be an Olympic swimmer, too. She trains seven times a week alongside school at Putteridge Swimming Club. She’s currently the Bedfordshire U14 County Champion and placed in the top five at regional level. She is now on the verge of Nationals this year and won her category in the East Region open water in 2022.

As an inspiring Olympian, Lexie‘s role model is Alice Dearing. She explains how she felt finding out and being on set with her: 'It was so surreal, and just seeing her, you're like, there she is?!' 

When Lexie revealed that Alice was her role model, Catherine knew something was there, and it was ‘just meant to be.’ 

Jasmine and Catherine’s history goes way back to childhood, when they were friends growing up in Northampton in the Midlands. As adults, they’ve both reclaimed swimming. Catherine explains the role swimming plays in Jasmine’s life: It’s ‘like freedom for her.’ 

A former championship rugby player, Jasmine is working to change the representation of women in traditionally male-dominated sports. From fronting ITV’s RFU Unleashed to appearing on BBC’s The Traitors, she finds freedom and weightlessness in the water.

Jasmine explains what being part of the film means to her:

‘When Catherine wanted me to be a part of Swim Sistas, I was sincerely flattered. I have been an advocate of empowering women to participate in sport for as long as I can remember, and swimming was one of the first sports I participated in myself. And so, it felt apt to be involved in Swim Sistas, a project which amplifies the voices of black women occupying a space where they wouldn’t “usually”. I am truly honoured to be involved.’

Roni is a force of nature. She has a dancing background but now dreams of being a synchronised swimmer. Well, ‘dream’ is not quite the right word, she playfully warns, ‘Watch this space, I’m being serious…It's made for me. The makeup, the lashes, the sparkle, the dance, it's just the natural progression!’

She is a ‘Fabulous Aunt’, not a Great Aunt, ‘I get the kids to come and watch me and be that inspiration, to be, you know, not just my age or my colour or my gender, all of that can be knocking down doors and going, " actually, look, she's doing it, I can”.’ Filming happened the day after her birthday, capturing Roni’s first-ever open water swim.

Catherine’s previous film, 54 Days, led to a special connection with Roni.  ‘I accidentally found it because I was trying to find where Black people buy swimming hats, because you don't buy them on the high street…So I'm online Googling and I found SoulCap, and then SoulCap led into Alice Dearing, Alice Dearing's sponsorship, and that was the route I found 54 Days later.’

The next day, Roni headed into work and chatted to her colleague Laura, who she didn’t know was Catherine’s sister, about how she was trying to watch 54 Days as she was getting into swimming. Laura put Roni and Catherine in touch, and the rest was history.

‘We had this amazing connection, because Roni was 54 years of age, which is the age that the dad 54 Days loses his life to suicide. So there were so many connections that I was like, wow.’

Why make Swim Sistas now?

Catherine highlights that ‘The statistics are getting worse. We don't really know why that is, and we don't exactly know how many people can't swim. We just know that they're not swimming. 

Whatever the reasons for that, whether it's access to water or the simple fact that we don't see enough people, we just need to make sure that we're doing as much as we can to remove those barriers.’

It’s a complex issue with many contributing factors, including falsified information and assumptions, financial barriers, and stigma.

Catherine explains how not having visible role models is a substantial component:
 
‘I think it's definitely about having visible role models. I think a lot of that comes down to not seeing that representation.

A phrase that always comes to my mind is, “You can't be what you don't see.”

I think if you don't grow up seeing your parents swimming, your grandparents swimming, or anyone on TV or hearing about anyone like you swimming, you kind of just assume it's not for you…

Visibility seems to be something that's within our control and within our power, and we can be the spokespeople for that. So that's how I see how we address that.’ 

The influence of seeing role models can be echoed in Lexie’s swim journey. While Lexie’s family may not swim, she remembers seeing Alice Dearing on the telly when she first started competing for Great Britain, ‘I remember talking to my dad about her as well.


Another considerable factor is the trauma associated with the water, dating back to the slave trade, that has been passed down through generations.

There are also myths around things such as bones being too heavy, which Roni highlights in the film, having been told by a teacher as a child that she would never swim due to her bone density. 

Roni explains ‘It just sort of cemented pretty much what I thought. Because I don't see Black people swimming, and she said it, and why would you not believe your teacher when you're like, seven or eight years of age? 

Similar to Catherine, she chose to focus on a non-water-based activity she was good at. Instead, growing up, she thought, ‘I'm just going to go back to my dancing lessons, which I'm really good at, and then that's sort of why I was quite happy with my feet on dry land.’ 

She explains how swimming became something she avoided in her teens: ‘You sort of find ways to get out of it… 
Again, we had to do lessons in secondary school then… It was just torture. I couldn't wait for that 30 minutes to be over.’

But Catherine hopes that this cycle can be broken, ‘I think even if no one in your family swims, but you watch a film like this and then you see, Oh, there is someone who looks like me, who also has no experience with water but learns to swim. I think there's a sense of having to break the cycle for ourselves.’ Which is precisely what Swim Sistas demonstrates. 

After decades of learning to swim on and off, Roni’s confidence is still a work in progress, but learning to swim has been transformative:
‘The first time I could float, that blew my mind. Because that was the one that they said, Black people can't float. And that's what I honestly, truly believed. I could get upset about it now. 
The thing is, it's kept me in fear of water all those years.’

Helping to break stigma is also huge. As Roni says, ‘If someone is brave enough to share that they're learning, let's encourage that. Let's make it a flex to be learning how to swim as an adult.’ 

On the other hand, Lexie has a solid swim community that is seeing more young Black people pursue competitive swimming.

Alongside Lexie, incredible swimmers are making a name for themselves. So, how does Lexie feel about the young competitive swimming community?  
‘I say it's the best group I've ever been in because everyone admires everyone's speed. 
They don't like to show off, but some of the boys do! But we all know it's just for a little joke, because if you were to show off, everyone would know it's a joke. So it's just like a comfort place for me. It's my home.’

In an age where phones and technology dominate daily communications, swimming is also a chance for Lexie to hang out with other like-minded young people in real time, in a productive and positive environment. 
‘I have so many lovely friends there, and I've got friends from other clubs that I don't see normally, but to see them at competitions and be able to talk to them, not from Snapchat or WhatsApp, just see them in the flesh, and then just the feeling of going up for a race or like my favourite race. I love racing in arena leagues, when you do like your race for your team, and you gain points. That's when we do relays, and the atmosphere there is amazing as well.’

Context of Black history and swimming

To understand the context of the statistics, Catherine has been researching the history of Black people and swimming during the editing process of Swim Sistas: 

‘Before the Middle Passage and before slavery, we were from islands. We were swimming, we were fisherwomen. 

There's a whole history and legacy of Black people, especially Black women, swimming, diving, collecting pearls, and feeding families.

And then, as the Middle Passage and people are taken away to be sold as slaves, it becomes absolutely essential that they do not know how to swim, because that is the means by which the slave owners can control them and maintain the fear. So if you jump into the water, there are monsters, and then you get legends of different monsters that will drag you under, or you'll drown, or, you know, all of these things to keep them… So all of that was actually a construct that was put upon Black people.

Then, hundreds of years later, we are in this position where, like my mum cannot swim and has a fear of water. She's deathly afraid of it, but she broke the cycle because she made sure that me and my sisters learned how to swim by taking lessons.’

Lexie explains her parents’ similar experience with swimming:
‘I think my dad can't swim. He grew up in Grenada, so all his family can't swim either. And my dad wants me to teach him how to swim. So when we go to Grenada, because my aunt passed away, we're going to have to spread her ashes in Grenada. 
So we're gonna go next year. That would be nice to just show the family how to swim in the sea, because obviously Grenada is surrounded by sea, loads of sea, beautiful beaches as well. So the fact that they can't swim is quite confusing, but.. I guess I’ll have to show them.’

As a woman in her 50s, Roni explains the drive of learning to swim after seeing the statistics:
‘I just remember seeing it - 95% - I thought, you can't be part of that statistic. It doesn't make sense. And it all started sort of unravelling… “That doesn't even make sense, because both my parents are from islands.” My mother's from Guadeloupe, and my dad's from Dominica. They're both islands just surrounded by water. So why don't they swim?

Plus, I have heard of swimmers. I knew we had one! I watched the 2021 Olympics. And the more I delved into it, and I worked for ATG, and I write articles for them for the anti-racism campaign. 
So I started researching a bit more, and that's when the truth started to unfold. It all started to make a bit more sense of the barriers that we’d faced.’

Transforming the future of swimming

‘The swim community does feel now like a bit of a personal mission. I want to advocate for the fact that we should all have access to this. We all deserve to be able to get in the water and feel that freedom.’ Catherine Joy White

Catherine believes using platforms and increasing visibility in the sport is hugely inspiring and important. 

‘The more people of all backgrounds we see swimming, the more people will feel inspired and encouraged to give it a go. 
But that is also why, for example, being able to have this conversation with Dryobe’s platform will inspire someone else who maybe has been thinking about it to finally say, "You know what? It's time”.’ 

As a former Olympian, Alice Dearing uses her strong platform to ensure that she works with national bodies and promotes grassroots activism, helping to spread awareness and make swimming a more accessible sport nationwide.  

She co-founded the Black Swimming Association, a charitable organisation that advocates water safety and inclusion for Black and Asian minorities in swimming. that are trying to ensure that the statistics that are put out there are correct and that all the correct information is available on where and how people can learn to swim. Check them out here to find out more. 

Half-Ghanaian, Alice is also the founder of the Ghana-based organisation SWYM (Swim With Your Meaning), which is working with communities worldwide to bring swimming and water safety to them in a way that works for their lifestyles. Find out more here. 

‘It was an honour to be a part of Swim Sistas. Catherine is such an incredible storyteller, and her passion for swimming has led to some of the most beautiful and impactful projects. To have my story told alongside three other beautiful Black women was an opportunity I’ll cherish forever.’

Creating a sisterhood

‘There's this moment, and it felt like time sort of stopped, and it was so beautiful. It was really moving. It was really, really joyous, to be honest….’

Filmed on just one crisp winter day in March 2025 in Penshurst Place in Kent,
Catherine describes the beauty of the cast entering the water for the final swim together:

‘We brought them together at the end of the day, and all got into swim and I had a speaker playing, so that the vibes were up, but there was also something really moving about how Roni listens to music when she swims. It's a Black classical musician called Okiem so I played some of that, and I had goosebumps. I was crying watching it because there's something about seeing them in the water together, having spent all day with their stories and their journeys. Really, really joyous.’ 

Roni sums up the group swim experience. ‘It was surreal. It was absolutely surreal to start my journey from not being able to swim to being in adult swimming lessons, or having to combat the embarrassment of that and having conversations about it, to be going from that level, so the equivalent of Lexie when she was one day old, that was me at 54. To go from that, to be in the swimming documentary, with someone as talented as Lexie, and of course, Alice and Jasmine, it was just absolutely surreal, just incredible, exciting, and challenging.’

Advice for swimmers 

As women who have experienced such varying journeys with water, they have some exceptional advice for anyone who is considering trying swimming.  

Roni encourages, ‘Give it a go. Don't overthink it. Just give it a go because it'll change your life. That sense of freedom would change your life.’ 

She expresses how you can stay true to your individuality while swimming and also emphasises the importance of accountability to keep you on track. ‘Try to keep being yourself.  I'm always listening to music, and  I've always got my false eyelashes on. 

I found a way. I have waterproof headphones that I download my music on, so I can listen to beautiful, relaxing music. 

I also went into the Decathlon, and I have these wonderful, large goggles, which fit my lashes under! 

There's no reason why I can't swim around in the water like I do on land.

Just keep being yourself. And make sure that someone's accountable to make you keep going.’ 

Catherine highlights the importance of support, whether giving it or accepting it:
‘Having the courage to jump into the water, whatever life throws at you. It's also about reaching out a hand to your sisters, to the women beside you, around you, supporting them, and allowing yourself to be supported as well.’ 

Lexie has some great insights for those who are apprehensive of the unknown: ‘It may be cold, but once you get in there, it'll probably be refreshing.’ When I was doing my open water, I was really scared. When I first heard the whistle to get in, I dipped my feet in, and I was like, “I can't do that." 

But then, when you think about it, when you reflect on it at home, it's like, "That was a good swim. I liked it."


It might be a long journey as well to be able to get to a lake. Who knows what's in that lake? I think the seaweed scared me a little bit! I thought it brushed on my legs and I got a bit scared…But I think people should know that once you do it, you'll be fine. 
Even if it was a bad race, you should be proud of yourself that you finished.’ 

Swim Sistas will be premiering in the UK at the 2025 Kendal Mountain Festival. 

Photos courtesy of Rob Youngson Photography 

Follow Swim Sistas 

Instagram: @swimsistasfilm  

#dryrobeterritory 

Published on September 16, 2025