FOUNDER FOREWORD
LEISURE DB
LIGHTBULB MOMENTS
I have a confession to make while writing this foreword: something I haven’t admitted before. In spite of my love for triathlon, I’m a hopeless swimmer. There, I said it – and I’m happy to share this news now as part of the wider sharing, openness and frankness that’s taking place in this transformative report. As is the case every year, the State of the UK Swimming Industry Report 2023 paints a clear picture of the UK’s swimming pool stock – and this year, it’s a story of continued decline, albeit not as dramatic as might be expected, with pool count down -0.8% and the number of sites with pools down -1.8%. What’s new this time is our deep dive behind the statistics, as 12 partners share a fascinating and insightful narrative around a shared interest in our swimming pools. They are joined by a collection of experts who have been designing, building, maintaining, operating, managing, programming, researching and redefining the carrying capacity of the water. I have learnt so much, and I’m sure you will, reading all these contributions to the national debate on what the pool stock should look like, who should provide it, fund, programme and manage it. I had never before thought about applying retention strategies to swimmers, for example, so thanks to Marc Jones for that lightbulb moment. Also interesting is that premiumisation exists in swimming as it does in fitness, with ‘PT in the pool’ from the likes of Swimming Nature and luxury operator Third Space naming pools as its top-performing digital marketing asset. Then there’s the tech that’s making an impact on the swim customer experience, from AI lifeguarding to learn-to-swim tracking apps to online bookings that mean we finally have rich, product-informing data on all types of swimmers. Yet we still need to put much more thought into the customer experience, says Sophie Lawler of Total Fitness. Other contributors, including GLL and 1Life, vent their frustration over funding; public sector operators call for a financial model to protect pools by rethinking the tendering process; and new partnerships with the likes of Good Boost show how pools can be harnessed to support the NHS. Finally, Helen Bull is spot on when she says there’s no one single leading voice in the industry. To that I would add ‘or data source’. This report – and the database sitting behind it – is the most granular facility data available and the only complete audit of all UK pools, but usage data remains limited and patchy. More must be done, and I urge the whole sector to dive in and embrace the best practice showcased in this year’s State of the UK Swimming Industry Report .
I have learnt so much, and I’m sure you will, reading all these contributions
to the national debate on the UK’s pool stock. DAVID MINTON Founder, Leisure DB
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STATE OF THE UK SWIMMING INDUSTRY REPORT 2023
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