Children and Young People The findings so far...

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Quentin Horn
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1 Children and Young People The findings so far... Aquatic Youth Clubs Social activities for young people Active University projects University Swimathon Sportivate findings Swimming lesson technology Swimfit Market segmentation List of what s left to be researched

2 Aquatic Youth Clubs (1) Summary of interviews conducted across 4 venues to date: What is an Aquatic Youth Club: designed for young people to gather, take part and have fun in a variety of different aquatic activities. Generally offered to 8-11 year olds, and year olds (based on age as opposed to ability- can be a non-swimmer). The latter age group is much more difficult to engage. One facility chose to open up the session to children with learning disabilities in order to increase the popularity of the older age group. Clubs generally take place on a Friday night between 6-9pm when adult pool attendance is low. Benefits to the Aquatic Youth Clubs: preventing crime, providing new channels and positive perception to aquatic sport, increase health and well being and provide further opportunities for young people. Successful forms of promotion: Local authority putting up good news pictures of young people using the pool, at the end of the swimming lanes. Promotional material for the project circulated across community and club networks. Targeting children on learn to swim scheme who would like to swim without their parents. Need to continually promote the club to keep it going in terms of interest. Promote through schools, swimming development manager post, CSP, PDM, council SDO, swim school. One leisure centre used a youth club board near the cafe area where young people can see their instructors and learn a bit about them. Bring a friend for free campaigns work, but only on a short term basis

3 Aquatic Youth Clubs (2) Cost: Typically lower cost than a normal swim. Ranges between 1-3 for 1hr. PAYG. Capacity: typically children in attendance. Maximum of 40 spaces. Attendance figures peak during summer months, and drop in September and January. Activity: Varies between facility. Typical activities included multi-aquatic mini-games such as water polo or bulldogs for 30mins in a shallow pool, followed by a floats and fun session with music for 30mins in big pool. Starting in the small pools can increase a child s water confidence and allow the teacher to manage kids behaviour and assess ability before they transfer to the big pool There is no link to swimming lesson s NPTS. The session is fun and reflects a youth club more than a swimming class. Multi-aquatic activities may include Mini Polo, Flip N Fun (introduction to diving), Aqua Fun (synchro), Aqua Kids (fun water workout), Rookie (introduction to lifesaving), Snorkelling, Kayaking etc. Some facilities simply offer youth Swimfit as an additional strand of the learn to swim framework. Swimfit sessions are most popular with older children who are becoming increasingly bored of their structured learn to swim lesson. The Swimfit session is aimed at the more advanced swimmer who doesn't feel ready for a full club experience but still enjoys swimming. Lots of equipment needed for a successful aquatic youth club.

4 Aquatic Youth Clubs (3) Instructors: Young teachers. Usually a level 2, assisted by 2 x level 1 instructors. The lead instructor is deemed as being key for programme success. The instructor must display traits of being able to think quickly, engage all pool users, quickly determine a child s swimming ability, and loosely plan a very flexible session. An instructor who plans well may not be suited to the clubs since structure does not always allow instructors to react to participant preferences. Instructors tend to enter the water with the children. If attendance numbers are very high, additional support is brought in through the use of extra lifeguards. Future ideas / suggestions: The majority of clubs do not offer non-aquatic activity as part of the club although many would like to if facilities were available. A group gym induction / fitness testing / introduction to lifeguarding / disco dance mats / Boxing / Aqua Aerobics / Aqua Zumba / Synchro swim session / spinning / Dance aerobics One facility included end of term presentations One facility included the use of disco lighting as well as music Exit routes to be improved. This may work well with ASA s future focus on its club offer encourage signposting to clubs / lifeguarding courses / volunteering / gifted and talented / learn to swim programme

5 Aquatic Youth Clubs (4) Future ideas / suggestions continued: Explore how rookie lifesavers from the learn to swim scheme can be used to help run aquatic youth clubs. There have been requests for the bronze medallion Open leisure centre after-hours for young people only (avoid tension with other pool users). Work with police to direct anti-social behaviour to be channeled through the club. Increase the number of aquatic youth club leaders with an aquasplash helper qualification organised by volunteer dept at ASA. Behavioural management and consistency is key. Some brand new teachers may benefit from a CPD in the principles of this. The use of an aquasplash competition may work introduction of a weekly league. However, this is dependent on teams being led by consistent teachers and hope that this stimulates regular attendance. At present, this has not been achieved due to PAYG nature of the club. Parents like the option of swimming at the same time as their kids, therefore public sessions alongside the aquatic youth club may prove successful.

6 Social activities for young people (1) Review of existing social activities for young people in the water Holiday parks Pool operators Other dryside sport Schools Pop up pools Findings to date of what is on offer, or where there is scope for improvement: Family learn to swim lessons (promoting the social element of lessons and how families can learn together) Schools are a key springboard for sport for life. It is here that swimming should be promoted as something fun and social Childcare is an issue for young mums, therefore there is a need for water crèche services- perhaps offer adult swim lanes on the other side of the pool to an aquatic youth club?

7 Social activities for young people (2) Findings to date of what is on offer, or where there is scope for improvement: Marketing sessions as grandparent and grandchild or dads and daughters would highlight to users that a family session is not just for mums and their young ones. Explore family aqua aerobics, whereby families improve their water confidence and health through using toys instead of standard aqua equipment Family activities need to be under 20 (there are few other things to do for families under 20) Many pools are limited in the social opportunities they can offer to young people due to pool depth. Pools should be encouraged to explore teaching platforms

8 Social activities for young people (3) Activities Aquafit / Swimfit Aquatic Youth Club Aqua Jetting Tiny Turtles Tadpoles Froglets 1 to 1 Swimming Lesson / Group learn to swim scheme / family learn to swim lessons Scuba Diving; Try Scuba (10yrs+) Snorkelling' Learn Snorkelling Description Multi-aquatic youth club involving structured games and free play time with floating equipment Miniature submersibles Suitable for parents with little ones aged between 1 week and 6 months. Learn the early water skills. Received a souvenir toy and certificate. 6 months+ 2-4 yrs. Play and learn sessions, teaching your child early swimming skills and build water confidence. Receive a souvenir toy and certificate at the end. Get a taste of all the basic diving skills 8yrs+ Get Safe for Summer Aquasplash

9 Social activities for young people (4) Activities Subtropical Swimming Paradise Go ballistic 8-13years Description 29.5 oc all year round. Outdoor rapids, flumes, outdoor swimming pool, wave machine, children s pool, spa pools, lagoon bar, lazy river, space bowl team games in the pool; floats, balls, toys and inflatable s- high energy excitement Rookie lifeguard Water party 8-13yrs Water walkers Inflatables Aqua gliders Swimming galas Aquajets basics of lifeguarding over a 2 hour course festive water party; team races, relays, ball games and prizes for everyone Climb into a giant and run, spin and roll across the water (like a hamster in a wheel) Play dodgems or whizz around on the small powered inflatable s which are similar to jet skis. Little powered submersibles create the feel and excitement of underwater exploration as you turn, twist and dive through the water

10 Active University projects (1) Review of existing information: This section is specific to Universities: HE and FE are two quite different sectors and should be treated separately The key: make them attractive to both a) the University s sports department and b) the students themselves. Two way promotion to ensure that benefits encourage the university to deliver projects and students to use the offer. The ASA s University Swimathon pilot has taken this point into account to offer an attractive package to five Universities (see future slides) HEI survey swimming specific survey (forwarded by Sport England): 21 Universities (35%) have a University Club and a community club link for Swimming. 20 Universities (33%) just have a University club for Swimming 9 Universities (15%) don t have a University Swimming club but do signpost out to a local community club 10 Universities (17%) currently do not have an offer for their students in Swimming. 8 Universities stated that Swimming was a priority sport for their institution

11 Active University projects (2) Future Aspirations for working with swimming (HEIs were asked to indicate whether they were interested in..) Exploring how the university and the NGB could work collaboratively to better support coaches and officials development Uni s YES & READY Uni s YES BUT items to resolve first Uni s NOT YET Uni s NO Having access to club development support for your university club Being a coach education course provider for the sport Developing a collaborative volunteering agreement (For example HEI train &recruit volunteers, sport provides suitable placements or training) Developing a community club link with an existing university club to increase opportunities and be part of an athlete/player pathway. Developing and running more social/informal forms of the sport at your University Your university club working towards some form of club accreditation Exploring a local partnership to employ a community sports coach (PT/FT) Hosting local/regional/national events (and is this realistic?) and have some resource to explore facility developments

12 Active University projects (3) Future Aspirations for working with swimming (HEIs were asked to indicate whether they were interested in..) Developing a community club link where you have no university provision Uni s YES & READY Uni s YES BUT items to resolve first Uni s NOT YET Uni s NO Developing intra mural opportunities for your students and staff Becoming a regional centre/academy for the sport Running an inclusive version of the sport (in terms of disability) either within the University or as part of a local area initiative. Developing a new university club Survey suggests that ASA should explore the following areas: Coach and official development ***Club development support becoming a coach education provider ***volunteering ***community club and university club links ***The informatics team at ASA are already exploring the development of these areas

13 Active University projects (4) Feedback collected from current Active University projects that includes swimming activity Directing participants to general swimming sessions are less successful than sessions with an instructor leading (swimfit / aqua aerobics). Fitness classes in particular are proving very popular Student only pool time is preferred by participants The offer of discounts, stash and loyalty cards has proved successful. This is an effort to increase student commitment to a PAYG offer. Attendance in some universities that do not offer such loyalty incentives have experienced sporadic attendances Sessions need to take place at a variety of times in order to suit a variety of students Students like the PAYG option of active university sessions no financial ties Promotion through word of mouth has proven most successful The completion of Active University registers is useful in terms of future sport related and targeted marketing for the University Future success is dependent on: continued financial contribution Training of receptionist staff who are not always aware of the university offers Stronger exit routes with University and community clubs Team of volunteers or aquatic ambassadors and employed coaches who are able to promote activity through word of mouth. Universities would like more support from ASA in terms of promoting the launch of their activities

14 University Swimathon (1) In response to existing information (Active University info / Sportivate info / Sport England knowledge that effective offers must reflect student and university needs for sustained success), the ASA are piloting a University Swimathon across 3 venues and 5 Universities. Each Swimathon is supported by the University charity, sport and union departments. These departments include both paid University employees and student volunteer representatives. This approach allows for: Increased promotion via word of mouth (deemed as most effective in Active University projects) Increased two-way buy in and partnership between University departments and students. (a project that reflects both parties needs and expectations) All three Swimathons are linked to a 6 to 12 week water workout programme that allows Swimathon entrants to improve their confidence and love for the water in the build up to the Swimathon. The promotion of Big Splash reward cards after the Swimathon will hopefully improve the sustainability of the swimming participation.

15 University Swimathon (2) Data is yet to be collected, but brief details of the projects are below: Loughborough: 29 th April Swimathon. Weekly sessions that incorporate Swimfit, technique workshops, aqua circuits and aqua aerobics. Targeted at students not already a part of a sporting club. Nottingham: 6 th May Swimathon. Bi-Weekly sessions that include aqua zumba and Swimfit, targeted specifically at international and postgraduate students. Manchester: 21 st April Swimathon. Bi-Weekly sessions that offer aqua zumba, aqua aerobics, meet and greet pro swimmer sessions and master class swimming sessions lead by the pro swimmers. Each session will include meet and greet elements prior to entering the pool in order to: Improve the social, fun element of swimming Assess participant goals

16 Sportivate findings Awaiting feedback from four Sportivate swimming projects. Sportivate data has proven difficult to obtain for two reasons: These are not coordinated by the ASA and therefore contact details are lacking Data that is requested is not ready as of yet, or has not been collected by the contact given to the informatics team Nature of projects that are being explored: Manchester Aquatics Centre Swimfit lane swimming Loughborough University Swimfit sessions in combination with aqua aerobics and aqua circuits Awaiting more information on a young mums back to swimming project Leicestershire loyalty card prize draw lane / social sessions Sportivate delivery plan - Swimming summary National No. of Projects % of All Sportivate Projects Swimming % Aquatics % Water Polo % Diving %

17 Swimming lesson technology (1) Background of Cap2: Swimming teachers use an itouch to log swimmer performance live. Parents can check out this information as it happens virtually using a home portal. The system is linked to an evolving learn to swim database which can parents when their child is ready to move up / receive a badge, or can highlight to teachers when a child is struggling to progress, or when a teacher is not regularly teaching a variety of NPTS skills. Potential issues with the Cap2 software: reception and teachers selling badges. Parents tracking and interfering with lesson progress if they disagree with teacher feedback. Teachers struggling with the change from paper based tracking to itouch software.

18 Swimming lesson technology (2) Feedback from three learn to swim schemes using Cap2 Potential issues mentioned on previous slide are not proving to be a concern. Cap2 software has led to: Improved customer service Improved consistency in teaching (cover teachers can quickly explore the level and needs of the children in the class they are covering Transparency in child progress (continual assessment rather than termly) Increased parent interest in child progress, leading to improved motivation of young people (some parents use the home portal to show children what skills they need to work on) Increased revenue (through increased number of new and re-enrollments Faster identification and action on teacher training needs Improved communication between teacher, coordinator, reception and parents (meetings have increased due to continual assessment, but less time is spent of reacting to complaints, but instead looking forwards) Medical information is alerted to teachers and therefore teachers are immediately aware of how to tailor lessons Training is required for teachers and receptionist. This training should allow time for teachers and receptionists to practice with the itouch s and eliminate any worry about using them during lessons in a rushed and panicked manor, leading to negative perceptions of change. Need to promote the software s ability to reduce lesson admin. Online booking system has vastly improved lesson efficiency Reduced number of customer complaints

19 Swimming lesson technology (3) Suggestions for the future that would further enhance learn to swim schemes Increase the number of rewards available between NPTS stages 3-5 to improve swimmer motivation and retention. These stages are commonly bottle necks for progression. Add additional skills to achieve on the Cap2 software so that teachers are more aware that there is a need to teach beyond the NPTS stages (i.e. Introduce breaststroke at stage 2 even though it isn t on the badge criteria). Introduce minipolo / synchro / diving at stages 5 and 6 as a way of improving learn to swim retention. Provide more training opportunities for coordinators to make the most of Cap2 reports i.e. Statistically analyse data collected by the software to ensure that their lesson programming is meeting the needs of customers and that their teachers are progressing children at suitable rates and encouraging them to learn. Cap2 should expand its capacity to track adult swimming lessons and make better use of comments boxes in order to pass on messages between teachers / qualitatively monitor participant progress. Explore how Cap2 can be used to track swimfit progress Badge alerts coordinators are keen to send admin of badges direct to ASA, however the option to collect badge from reception should still be available to motivate and extrinsically reward young people.

20 Swimfit: perspective of year olds (1) How they would like Swimfit cards to look: Simplicity (warm up, set and cool down) and structure Effort. level column Educational and targeted (e.g. If you re struggling with injury try this card) card will then explain why certain activities are appropriate. Make use of a continuum of cards so it is clear how a user should progress. For example, make use of rainbow colours- help identify goals or for distance then duration. Accompany the continuum with an instruction card (perhaps on back of the cards, or clearly on the display boards) Avoid beginner, advanced terminology. It inappropriately categorises people and can lead to loss of confidence or avoidance of Swimfit completely. Would not pay for the cards themselves. They need to be free. Place cards in the corridor of changing rooms. Not near the deep end. Encourage inclusion through offering cards in different languages, with different images. Include technique and tip advice (how to increase intensity for example) Include calorie counter / or tips on how to use swimming to complement existing sports programme (e.g. Cardio / recovery / rehab) Include aqua jogging specific cards Would like the Swimfit cards to be offered as part of an optional pool walker coaching service. Then it s up to you if you want advice.

21 Swimfit: perspective of year olds (2) How to promote the swimfit cards DISCOUNTS. especially for this age group. Make it clear that the use of a pool walker is value for money coaching and that the use of Swimfit cards is free. Promote through Big Splash reward cards / other loyalty cards Try to link in the use of Swimfit cards with a purpose / goal. For example get fit for the summer / get ready for the Swimathon or other charity team events that can encourage team entry through university RAG / Carnegie departments. Charitable events can encourage unsporty people to give sport a go. Promote through social media and University / sport / gossip magazines Encourage people to upload their session performance on social websites so that community chat and encouragement can be established... Potential to form a swimming network. Target other sports who use swimming as part of their training regime cool down / rehab Explore software such as SwimTag that can offer a performance tracking service like Nike+ Offer stash for participation Swim forum for instructors to answer questions and to place when the sessions would be available and if you cannot make the session information would be put online with teaching videos

22 Market segmentation (1) (11-16 years) (female years) (male years) Market segments to be put together on the above mentioned age groups. Attached are profiles that we have previously put together and will update as frequently as possible. For each age group we explore: General behaviour / sporting preferences / Swimming behaviour / where to reach them / how to overcome swimming barriers / how to further motivate to swim / Swim lesson attendance /Competition involvement /Club involvement / Retention rates for learn to swim /Drop off rates from learn to swim /Family influence / social influence / School influence We hope to evolve these in the near future into swimming personas that are not just based on swimming age, but also on swimmer preferences and ability for example toe dippers weekend social...

23 Market segmentation (2) (11-16 years) (female years) (male years) We will make use of existing data: APS Sport England youth report information from 2010 School sport survey ASA membership data Youth Sport Trust relevant reports Recent suitable academic publications CRM data from regions (learn to swim information and pool availability data) Sampling surveys completed in February at learn to swim sessions BME survey due to be completed end of February in partnership with Sporting Equals Survey monkey across secondary schools:

24 Still to come... Sampling report from February 2012 (focusing on learn to swim parents) Completed survey monkey across secondary schools: Continued review of existing literature from sport bodies and academics Feedback from GLL and SLM open days (questionnaires to be completed at Youth and Mother and Baby events and the opening day of new leisure centre Responding to existing feedback to develop a strategy and enhanced offer for our clubs and volunteers National Data Collection (quarterly review of approx 300 swimming pool user s feedback regarding their swimming participation, preferences, perceived value for money and opinions on existing ASA projects) Kelloggs SwimActive project reviews (specifically Aquatic Youth Clubs)

Entry through referral from specialist groups (GP ref. / Slimming World) Returner Swimmer / New Stroke

Adult Swimming ASA Level 2 Teacher ASA Level 2 /Swim Fit Instructor CPD Entry through referral from specialist groups (GP ref. / Slimming World) Non Swimmer Nervous Swimmer Returner Swimmer / New Stroke