Leisure DB State of the UK Swimming Industry Report 2024

OPERATOR PERSPECTIVE

“Our swimming experience deliberately sets out to give members as close to a lane to themselves as possible. We’ve done this while getting rid of swim bookings, which we introduced during the pandemic period. Many pools seem to have kept it, but we find usage regulates itself and our members much prefer the freedom to come whenever they want. “We offer free swimming at all times, other than an hour over lunchtime on Mondays and Wednesdays when the pool is exclusively booked out for aqua classes. These aren’t your typical aqua aerobics classes. It’s high-performance aqua – a tough workout that typically attracts members aged 35+ years – run by freelance instructors who’ve been part of our community for years. We get 40–45 people in those Monday and Wednesday classes. “On all other days except Sunday, we run aqua classes for around 20 participants, with lane swimming simultaneously going on in three of the five lanes. Demand for aqua classes has risen significantly since lockdown: we used to only run two classes a week. “On Sundays, we allow members to bring their children between the hours of 10.00am and 2.00pm. Two lanes are turned into an open space for families to swim and play, which is a complimentary member benefit the owners put in place nearly 30 years ago.

In other clubs, you might find five people per lane. We get complaints if there are more than two!

Both Mill Hill (this image) and Muswell Hill offer day spa, with “some exciting poolside plans” to expand the offering next year

“Our swimming experience deliberately sets out to give members as close to a lane to themselves as possible,” says Barre

“Alternatively, Swimming Nature offers high-quality children’s swimming lessons, with a ratio of just two children to one teacher. We believe this is the best teaching experience for children to learn the seven levels of swimming. “Swimming Nature also delivers 14 hours of adult swim lessons every week – one hour mid-morning and one hour early evening. We choose not to deliver our own swim lessons, instead partnering with an expert that has a great reputation for high-end, high-quality teaching. “The demand is certainly there for more adult lessons, but our pool is primarily there for our members; we believe the overall member experience is more important than optimising third party revenue streams. “Our members want to be able to come in and swim whenever they want in a peaceful environment. The strong membership base we have justifies our decision to protect the tranquillity and availability of our pools.”

The demand is certainly there for more adult lessons, but we believe the overall member experience is more important

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STATE OF THE UK FITNESS INDUSTRY REPORT 2023 STATE OF THE UK SWIMMING INDUSTRY REPORT 2024