Download Case Study 1- Be a better swimmer

Case Study 1- Be a Better
Swimmer
“I don’t teach swimming, I teach people
how to be happier in the water”
Key Points
Positives
Negatives
• General consensus that the
initiative is a good idea
• Positive results in terms of
improvements in swimming for
all participants spoken to
• Enthusiastic teachers/coaches
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Points for further consideration:
-Diagnosis workshop, opposed to Pool
walker
-Target special group inc GP Referral
-Offer incentives
-The Social Element
-Definition of who it is aimed at and
where it sits on the adult L2S framework
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Ineffective marketing and
promotion
Class sizes often small and
numbers mainly on the decline
No clarity in terms of who it is for
and what type of swimmer it is
aimed at
-Up skilling of staff, education of all
staff inc gym instructors and
reception staff
-Targeted marketing and promotion
-Swimfit
-Swim4Health
-CPD
Introduction
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Analysis was divided across two leisure providers, Serco and DC Leisure.
These providers each received supporting funding from Kelloggs.
Serco centres introduced Be a Better Swimmer as free, structured sessions
for adults wanting to improve their swimming
DC Leisure centres offered their own take on Be a Better Swimmer which
was a pool walker service, this was offered at no extra charge and was
designed to be a hints and tips service to pool users
The sessions were available to all swimmers including complete beginners,
improvers as well as swimmers viewed as competent who wished to
improve certain aspects of their swimming
Focus groups, interviews and observations were conducted with
participants, swimming teachers/coaches, swimming co-ordinators and
centre managers
Aim
• Evaluate current Be a Better Swimmer projects to ascertain
generic successes and failures of the Be a Better Swimmer
concept and see if these are universal or isolated
• To highlight if the sessions were worthwhile and if
improvements could be more widely offered
• To find out how best to market the Be a Better Swimmer
initiative
• Through deliverance of this initiative, questions regarding
Swimfit, a CPD for teachers and staff as well as an adult
framework for teaching swimming will arise and can be
investigated
Promotion and Marketing
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Serco centres used their customer
information on their database and
text, phoned or emailed them to
see if they wanted to attend the
sessions
Serco also put posters up in their
centres and spread the message
through word of mouth
A group had also been introduced
to the scheme through a GP
referral system
Reception staff need to have an
understanding of what they are
offering
Needs to be clear what is actually
on offer- advertised as ‘improver
sessions’ but there were a lot of
beginners that attended, slower
progression of the group
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DC Centres had a generic poster
that was up in their centres
advertising the scheme
Certain advocates of the scheme
passed on the message through
word of mouth, certain centres
were in close knit communities
where word of mouth was a key
promotional tool
T-Shirts indicating they were
instructors (not visible enough)
Poster up at the end of the lane
Extra marketing around poolside
(banners)
Use of the notice boards in the
centre
Motivations to learn and Barriers to
sign up
Motivations
• Get fit or fitter
• Improve health
• Learn a new skill
• Social aspect
• Improve water confidence
• Improve technique and
ability to swim for longer
Barriers
• Timing of lessons
• Personal circumstance
(childcare etc)
• Transport
• Unfriendly reception area
• Initial reservations (inc
confidence)
• Not sure it is for them
• People don’t want to be
interfered with
• What’s the catch?
Motivations to continue and barriers to
continue attending the sessions
Motivations
Barriers
• Reaching a goal
• Maintenance of fitness and
health
• Become a habit and part of
life
• Continued weight loss
• Love of swimming
• Continued improvement
• Timing of lessons
• End of learning experience
(exit routes)
• Personal circumstances
• Lessons are originally free,
lack of financial buy-in
leads to reduced
participation (no ties)
• Price- start to incur a cost
after receiving them for free
Teacher
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The teaching/coaching of the sessions is of high importance in terms of
retention of swimmers and continued participation. A good teacher will lead to a
positive experience and can really influence someone for better or worse
Key findings:
• Generally very positive feedback regarding teaching
• Teachers allowed participants to progress at own rate
• Catered well for a range of abilities/goals/needs
From teachers:
• Need a CPD for teaching adults
• Enjoyed teaching the sessions
• Still need a fun element/ strike up a rapport
• Friendly, bubbly and approachable
• Need to be pro active at selling swimming
• Promote a gym and fitness culture
• They see the initiative as a good idea but it has its problems
Structure and feedback
Structure
Feedback
• Down to the instructor how
they wanted to structure it
• 45 mins-1 hr
• First sessions assess the
needs of the participants, their
ability as well as goals
• Confidence building
• Pointers, not 1:1 coaching,
which at times descended into
a 1:1 session, due to low
numbers and needy customers
• One session attracted a group
of triathletes
• It is important for the teachers
to use both summative and
formative styles evaluation
• Evening sessions more
popular than daytime
• One centre has its own aquatic
champion
• Cross selling is important
• Feedback generally happened
subtly throughout the session
Participation and ability
Participation
Ability
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A few participants bought a
membership as a result of the
sessions
3+ usage per week to warrant a
membership
Most swam out of session time as well
All had ‘gone up a level’ in ability as a
result of the sessions
All spoken to wanted to continue ‘Be a
Better Swimmer’ for the long term
Customers left the sessions knowing
what was wrong with their stroke, how
to improve and where to find more
advice
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The terminology used in promoting the
sessions mean that a range of abilities
turned up to the sessions
3 types of swimmer to cater for-brand
new (in need of lesson), existing
swimmers that has not been for a
while and has lost technique and/or
confidence and existing swimmers that
want to improve speed, stamina or
technique (maybe a triathlete or
Masters swimmer)
Conclusions
Generic failures and success have been
evaluated by the Informatics Team. The two
different Be a Better Swimmer pilots offered
were suitable for different types of
swimmers. The sessions that Serco offered
were very similar to existing swimming
lessons- with an added meet and greet
session that worked quite well to stimulate
interest The need to sign up to (and commit
to) a block of swimming lessons led to a
decrease in numbers. DC offered the pool
walker service which was successful in part
but failed to get the numbers because of
lack of promotion. In terms of Be a Better
Swimmer, both concepts worked but an
alternative to this would be a diagnosis
workshop or skills and technique workshop
where participants could get the help they
require. The structured lessons are better
for people either learning to swim or a
participant who needs more 1:1 advice,
whereas the pool walker is more suited to
someone who wants to be generally left
alone to swim but may want some hints and
tips- it generally caters for the more
competent swimmer. In terms of generating
an option that suits both swimmers, a
casual swim diagnosis session (drop in and
out) could be offered alongside a structured
coaching session.
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Having a friendly instructor helps with
retention and promotion through word of
mouth
Meet and greet for nervous or non
swimmers
People who took part improved their
swimming abilities
The main failure of the initiative was
numbers due to lack of promotion and
marketing
Confusion over what Be a Better Swimmer
actually is and what type of swimmer it is
for
Be a Better Swimmer caters for
triathlete’s. Many triathlete’s weakest
discipline is swimming and with the
increased interest and uptake of the sport,
more people are trying to improve their
swimming
Fits- people swimming for a challenge and
females aged 30-60 as well as swimmers
who are weak or haven’t swam in years
Suggestions
Swimfit can be incorporated into Be
a Better Swimmer sessions. There
is the question of what to do next?
Should participants be directed
towards Masters clubs or Swimfit
classes? As these sessions are
currently free and have no monitory
value attached to them it means
that they may not actually be
valued. Introducing a charge and
financial buy-in ties people in, but
after being offered something for
free will people be prepared to pay?
The general consensus was to
charge and extra pound on top of
what was being paid already- but
would this cover costs? The main
floor of the initiative was lack of
promotion so this would need to be
assessed.
• Encourage financial buy-in
• More strategic messaging
to raise profile
• Target specialist groups
(GP Referral)
• Up skilling of staff
• Make it explicit who it is for
• Work out where it fits in
the Adult Learn to Swim
framework
• Explore the Triathlon link
• CPD for Swimfit and
teaching adults