OPERATOR PERSPECTIVE
OPERATOR PERSPECTIVE
Everyone Active has invested in mood lighting, music and projections to inject more fun into the pool environment
“We’re piloting Hydrohex virtual aqua classes at three of our centres, with virtual programming running on a big poolside screen. These sessions are all lifeguarded, but offer the flexibility to do the programme you want at a time to suit you. They also enable us to use some of our water differently, running Hydrohex in teaching pools that have moveable floors, for example. “All of these programmes sit alongside our traditional lane swimming – where fitness members account for 75 per cent of demand – family swim and under-fives sessions, and of course our 50-week learn-to-swim programme where children can progress at their own pace.” “We continue to adapt and innovate to bring fun to the pool and broaden its appeal to as many population groups as possible,” confirms Tillman.
Swim lessons are up 15 per cent since before the pandemic. Casual swimming is up 10 per cent.
Programme innovation She continues: “Over the last few years, we’ve really focused on understanding what customers are looking for and where we can add value in our programming, with health and wellbeing coming through strongly. “Of course, we have a finite amount of water, so we aren’t too niche in our programming. We’ve set out to maximise the yield of our pools by creating sessions that accommodate more groups of people. We want to maximise our impact within the limits of our pool capacity.” Cotton takes up the story: “We’ve increased our number of pool inflatable sessions for family fun, for example, as well as adult quiet swims for those with dementia, neurodiversity and long-term health conditions. Meanwhile, our senior swims have drawn an 830,000 attendance over the last 12 months. “We’ve really sought to nurture a sense of fun in the pool, too, as not everyone wants to swim lengths. We’ve invested in mood lighting, music and projections to create sensory experiences such as swim discos and sensory swims for children with special needs. “We’ve partnered with Good Boost at 37 of our facilities, working with people with musculoskeletal conditions [see page 68]. Delivered in small group sessions of eight to 10 people, we support 280–300 individuals each week, which might seem niche – until you consider the millions suffering with these conditions across the UK. This is a great use of pool space during quieter earlier afternoon times. “We work with the charity Level Water, delivering one-to-one swim lessons for younger children who have physical disabilities and/or hearing impairments. We also upskill our swim teachers to help integrate these children into mainstream classes once they’ve reached Swim England level 3 – being able to swim 10 metres.
Everyone Active has increased its number of pool inflatable sessions for family fun
JACQUI TILLMAN & IAN COTTON
Maximising pool occupancy and yield relies on smart timetabling and programmes with broad appeal, say Everyone Active’s aquatics experts
“Across the 140 Everyone Active centres that have pools, both casual swim and learn-to-swim have recovered from the pandemic and then some,” say Jacqui Tillman and Ian Cotton, respectively director of aquatics & wellbeing and group aquatic & activity manager at Everyone Active. “In the year to 31 March 2024, we added five new contracts, all with swimming. A further two sites with pools have been added since 1 April 2024. “We currently have 3,500 swim teachers delivering lessons to 185,000 children every week, with swim lessons up 15 per cent since before the pandemic. And across our estate,
we track over 1.2 million casual swims a month; casual swimming as a whole is up 10 per cent.” That ‘casual swim’ category spans a breadth of programmes, however, with 30 different aquatic sessions available at Everyone Active. These are timetabled and weighted according to local needs. “We’ve kept booking in place for all sessions and this is absolutely key. If we know who does what and when, we can quickly learn and adapt to local patterns of demand. We can help each individual find the activities and packages that best suit them. And we can monitor performance at a group level,” confirms Tillman.
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STATE OF THE UK FITNESS INDUSTRY REPORT 2023 STATE OF THE UK SWIMMING INDUSTRY REPORT 2024
STATE OF THE UK FITNESS INDUSTRY REPORT 2023
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STATE OF THE UK SWIMMING INDUSTRY REPORT 2024
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