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Swimming: The ASA and its five year strategy to get more people in the pool

Despite falls in the number of regular swimmers, visiting the pool is still the most popular form of sport in the UK. We look at what is being done to get even more people to jump in at the deep end

by Tom Walker, Leisure Media | Published in Sports Management 2015 issue 4
Figures show that 52 per cent of 11-year-olds entering secondary school are able to swim
Figures show that 52 per cent of 11-year-olds entering secondary school are able to swim

Since Sport England’s Active People Survey began 10 years ago, swimming has remained the most popular sport in England.

Swimming’s unique ability to appeal to both genders, all age groups and fitness levels, as well as to those with physical challenges or health conditions, means the potential for engagement in the sport is huge. But outdated facilities, rising costs and a perception with that swimming hasn’t moved with the times, have seen numbers begin to fall and there are now moves to turn this situation around.    

TURNING THE TIDE
Over the last year the national governing body for swimming, the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA), has gone through a period of change, bringing in new leadership and investing in an insight team to help the organisation – and the wider industry – better understand the needs of the swimmer. This insight has been central in shaping the ASA’s new Participation Strategy which, according to CEO Adam Paker, will improve swimming from its foundations and encourage more people to return to the water.

“Swimming is a great activity which can be enjoyed with friends, with the family or individually”, enthuses Paker. “It is also incredibly versatile, providing opportunities for people to stay active regardless of their fitness levels or personal goals.

“But there is a lot of choice out there when it comes to physical activity and people are rightly wanting more from their swimming experience. Over the last year we have improved our knowledge of what motivates people to swim and, perhaps more importantly, what is stopping people swimming more often.

“Our strategy is centred around improving swimming from its foundations by making it more visible and relevant to people’s lives, ensuring facilities are best in class, and providing experiences which genuinely meet people’s needs.”  

MAKING SWIMMING VISIBLE
The ASA’s five-year strategy, which is supported by Sport England, aims to return swimming to its heyday of attracting more than three million adult swimmers every week. One of the people brought in by the NGB to help do this was Nick Caplin, former director of communications at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.

As the ASA’s director of participation, Caplin has been integral in developing the new strategy. “What we’ve done is spend time really understanding the market. What’s clear is that there are many different reasons why people go swimming; what motivates one person is very different from the next, but there is a huge latent demand we need to tap in to.”  

Increasing the visibility of swimming through a national marketing campaign and improved digital presence is one of the first areas the new strategy will tackle.  

“We need to be better at reminding people why they should go swimming,” says Caplin. “Every day you see people out jogging or cycling, but by its very nature swimming often happens behind closed doors. If you ask someone on the street why they don’t swim more often, their response is usually, ‘because it never crossed my mind’. We want to change this by putting swimming at the forefront of people’s minds and showing why it should be integrated into their weekly routine.”

Like many other sports, one of the key challenges for the ASA is around facilities. With an ageing pool stock – and 65 fewer pools across 87 fewer sites than in 2013 – the public perception is that many facilities are not up to scratch. The ASA plans to support facilities by introducing best practice endorsements and hygiene support services, as well as new ways to accurately measure who is using the facilities. All of which will help to raise the perception of swimming.

“We have many really great examples of well-run pools,” explains Caplin, “but we also have the challenge of an ageing pool stock and an economic climate that is squeezing everyone’s purse strings. By working together, combining our expertise, and supporting smaller facilities, we will be able to modernise swimming.”

The third key area of the strategy focuses on tailoring the swimming offer for different needs. The ASA has seen great success with Swim Safe – its annual open water safety programme for children – and initiatives such as the Dementia Friendly Swimming Project which is aimed at supporting people living with dementia to continue being active.

Over the next two years the ASA will be developing new programmes to encourage more people to get involved. These range from mass-participation challenges – such as timed 500m swims – to new aquacise classes aimed at different levels. Underlying all this will be the integration of new swim-logging technology.

Caplin is quick to stress that none of this can be done by the ASA in isolation and requires all stakeholders in the swimming industry to work together.

“Our research showed that what swimming needed was a whole new approach. This strategy looks at the overall swimming experience, so we were keen to consult with all of our partners across the aquatics industry to enable us to improve cooperation.”

Kayle Burgham, technical manager for Aquatics at STA – an awarding body for swimming teaching and lifesaving in the UK – concurs. “A united and coordinated approach to swimming and water safety education in the UK is needed, with the main aquatic and lifesaving bodies working more closely together to tackle all these important issues,” she says. “One of our greatest aims is to address the shortage of qualified swimming teachers in the UK. Our recent survey found that difficulties in recruiting trained swimming teachers is creating widespread problems – 72 per cent of swim schools in the UK have a waiting list for lesson spaces, but just over 81 per cent said they could not find appropriately qualified swimming teaching staff to meet this demand. This is majorly impacting on the opportunity for children to learn how to swim. In response we will be piloting a Swimming Teacher Apprentice Course in 2016.”

GROWING THE TALENT
One area which has seen continued growth is club swimming. The ASA has more than 200,000 members at 1,095 affiliated aquatic clubs. Volunteers remain an important part of the sport, with 45,000 regularly involved in clubs and at regional and national competitions.

The healthy nature of grassroots swimming has created a pool of exciting young athletes that the ASA’s talent pathway scheme, England Programmes, has been able to support.

This investment in identifying and developing young swimming talent continues to reap rewards, with the 12 athletes selected to represent Team England at the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa claiming 25 medals and finishing second in the medal table.

With 12 of the 15 English swimmers selected to be part of British Swimming’s 2016 Podium Potential squad, the ASA is confident that English swimmers will continue to play a big part in the future of British international success.

With the rollout of the ASA’s work to increase participation, coupled with London hosting the 2016 European Aquatics Championships and anticipation of the Olympics, 2016 promises to be an exciting year for swimming.

Learning to swim

Any attempt to increase participation has to start with swimming lessons. Last year more than 2.4 million children and 100,000 adults learned to swim. While seemingly impressive figures, recent research by the ASA shows that only 52 per cent of children at Key Stage 2 are able to swim the minimum requirement of 25m unaided and one in five adults cannot swim at all.

“Ensuring that all children have the opportunity to take part in high quality school swimming lessons is not only paramount to growing participation, it is also a key lifesaving skill that can help to prevent drowning,” says Adam Paker.

“School swimming lessons were first introduced 125 years ago, yet only half of our children are able to swim the length of a pool.

“More than 500 schools have signed up to our School Swimming Charter, which is great, but we all need to work together – government, schools, operators – to make sure all primary schools have the resources available to ensure all children have the opportunity to learn to swim.”

Learning to swim
Learning to swim

Swimming and the health agenda

A key selling point for swimming is that anyone can take part. It’s often been described as a great leveller because once you are in the water, the relatively weightless environment helps to support the body. This is particularly helpful for disabled people or those with health conditions. It has also been shown to be beneficial for a person’s mental health. As news stories abound of problems in the NHS, rising obesity levels and an ageing population, swimming is increasingly being highlighted by health professionals and referral agencies as a good way for people to stay positive and active.

Last month, the ASA’s Dementia Friendly Swimming Project was rolled out to a further six locations. The initial results have been extremely positive and the project is supporting even more people to enjoy swimming in a safe and friendly swimming environment. The ASA is also piloting projects in Peterborough and Kirklees focused on improving the experience for disabled swimmers.    

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