OPERATOR PERSPECTIVE
OPERATOR PERSPECTIVE
An adult who takes swim lessons with us stays on average five months longer and spends nearly 70% more over their member lifetime
opportunity to use the pool as part of this programme, as it allows for low-impact activity that can be hugely beneficial to these individuals. We also know that pool- based activity is one of the most popular choices for Joint Pain alumni. In many of our fitness and wellbeing centres where we have physios, we also see the pool being used during physio appointments. And of course, mental health is a big part of swimming at the moment. We don’t offer any specific programmes here, but certainly a lot of members are using our pools to clear their minds and calm their stress levels as they enjoy the warmth of the water. Above all, with our charitable status in mind, we want to make swimming as inclusive, relevant and appealing as possible to as broad a range of people as possible. We want to bring communities together. We’re keen to explore women-only swimming times with female lifeguards. We want to be inclusive of those with special needs and disabilities. Because we know swimming is a wonderful way to improve the health of the nation.
Our fitness cards, available on every poolside, also bring purpose to the pool, with activities you can work your way through. Other activities already on offer include Rookie Lifeguards – we don’t want people’s journey to end when they’ve swum a certain distance – and we’re even beginning to explore other exciting possibilities for the future, such as water polo and synchronised swimming. We want to make swimming attractive to as many people as possible, offering lots of different opportunities so it isn’t just about being fast or completing badges. You don’t have to be a brilliant swimmer to get fitness benefits or to enjoy being in the water. But it is a juggling act in terms of managing pool space. We have to balance member satisfaction with getting more people swimming and improving the health of the nation. How do pools support your health agenda? Our Joint Pain Programme – launched in 2018 and free to attend for members of the public with musculoskeletal (MSK) concerns – is available in all our fitness and wellbeing centres. Many of the groups take the
In our adult lessons, we help people realise they aren’t the only one who can’t swim. That’s hugely important.
How do you balance lessons vs casual swimming? With swim lessons taking place every day of the week and the pool being used for so many activities, keeping everyone happy is the hardest part of my job! We’re certainly very conscious of using our pool space correctly, making sure lanes are always available to lane swimmers whether we have lessons going on or aqua aerobics. This is another benefit of small classes for swim lessons: you can have two or even three lessons going on within just one lane. They’re also comparatively quiet, meaning members can still go for a peaceful lane swim. We’d never have lessons on at the same time as aqua aerobics, though, which remains hugely popular. Mess with these classes at your peril: they’re always full and are attracting a more diverse audience than the stereotype suggests. That includes quite a lot of younger people who might be on a weight loss or mental health journey and really want to be in the water, but are looking for purpose and structure and fun.
lesson supply is seeing probably 70 per cent of our clubs open their lessons to non-members as well as members. We’re also seeing more schools coming in for swim lessons now, which is something we’re keen to encourage. The curriculum now says children have to be able to swim 25 metres and we want to help with that. In this scenario, our classes aren’t as small as four or six, but we still keep them as small as possible. We also have a lot of SEN children coming into our clubs who don’t cope well in a class environment. We’ve opened up a few inclusive SEN classes recently and they’re doing really well, so we’ll look at doing more. Although the sector has experienced a post-COVID plateau in learn-to-swim enrollment, we anticipate renewed growth in demand as water safety awareness continues to deepen. Our programmes already teach children as young as three how to flip and turn onto their backs if they’re in trouble, presented in a fun way so they learn vital skills without even realising it.
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STATE OF THE UK FITNESS INDUSTRY REPORT 2023 STATE OF THE UK SWIMMING INDUSTRY REPORT 2025
STATE OF THE UK FITNESS INDUSTRY REPORT 2023
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STATE OF THE UK SWIMMING INDUSTRY REPORT 2025
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