OPERATOR PERSPECTIVE
Reinventing the product “Reopening our pools after the pandemic gave us a chance to review and improve our product and programmes generally,” adds Clark. “We introduced online booking for casual swim at reopening – we had to, to comply with restrictions – but our regular fitness swimmers really like it and it’s been a big factor in making the customer experience smoother. Swimmers like to be able to book at exactly the time they want and know their chosen lane won’t be too full. We’ve implemented a trickle booking approach, releasing slots every five minutes rather than in hour blocks to avoid bottlenecks.” Other areas of product innovation include swimming lessons, where 200,000+ children are learning to swim across 140+ pools. At GLL, the traditional learn-to-swim stages 1–10 have now been restructured with a new syllabus into just three classes – Foundation, Development and Academy – each run by teams of teachers. Within each class, different swimming cap colours denote students’ level and they’re grouped accordingly, so each child can be supported and progressed.
This solves multiple issues. First, if more capacity is needed, another teacher is simply added to cover the additional children. Second, kids don’t have to switch between classes – and with it time slots / days – every time they pass a level. In turn, a real sense of community develops, which GLL now plans to develop still further. Finally, launching Academy has allowed GLL to incorporate lifeguarding and water safety, not just fitness swimming, nurturing potential future employees. Adult swimming lessons have also been reinvented, with the popular Swim Doctor programme – a drop-in class with no course-based commitment – also moving to a multi-teacher model. Swim Doctor Fitness remains the advanced class for those training seriously, but Swim Doctor Learn brings together beginners and improvers under the guidance of at least two teachers. Those with full UK-wide membership have these classes included; other members pay £3 compared to £7–10 for non- members. “People bring friends with them and it creates regular, ongoing swimmers who come to swim together,” says Clark.
Stages 1–10 have now been restructured into just three classes – Foundation, Development and Academy – each run by teams of teachers.
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STATE OF THE UK SWIMMING INDUSTRY REPORT 2023
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