The ASA has appointed Nick Caplin as its new director of participation, tasked with spearheading efforts to increase swimming and aquatics participation in England.

Despite being the most popular participation sport in England – with more than 2.6 million adults taking part in 30 minutes of moderate intensity swimming at least once a week – swimming has faced setbacks in recent months. The latest Sport England Active People Survey (APS), released in January, showed there had been an 8 per cent drop in swimming participation over the past 12 months.

As director of participation, Caplin will be responsible for developing and implementing the organisation’s strategic plan to encourage more people across the country to swim more regularly and take advantage of the social and health benefits of swimming.

Caplin, who joins the ASA from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (PlayStation) where he has been director of communications, expressed his excitement at taking on a "fantastic challenge".

He said: "The ASA is an incredible organisation, responsible for so much good work and to have the opportunity to be part of it at a time when there is a single minded focus on changing the way swimming and aquatics is perceived – ensuring that the consumer is front and centre – is something I simply could not ignore.”