COVID-19 IMPACT ON PRIVATE SWIM SCHOOLS It has been quite a year and as we reflect back, the United States Swim School Association took some time to learn from our members the impact this past year has had on their ability to teach swimming. While about three months was the average time our member swim schools were closed, we still have a handful of schools that remain closed. Those still closed are located in California, Hawaii, Toronto, as well as Arizona, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington and Florida. Some closures are a result of the location of the pool space used by a member, in other words if the location where they held lessons is not open, they have not been able to resume lessons. One of the most alarming numbers to come out of our survey is the fact that more than 77,500 kids are no longer getting swim lessons. With about 1/3 of our members completing the survey, the actual total is much higher. It does bring to question, what the future holds for drowning rates across the country. Drowning is already the number one cause of accidental death for children 1 to 4 and a leading cause for older youth. Why are so many not back at lessons? Over 60 percent of schools are still operating at reduced capacities, meaning less lessons are available. We are also seeing a trend among swim schools trying to rebuild and hire new staff. Staff shortages will make it more challenging to rebuild back up to pre-COVID lesson levels.
BY LISA ZARDA USSSA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Schools have also noticed over this last year a significant increase in newly enrolled swimmers. Over 40 percent are seeing 21 – 40 percent of their enrollments coming from new swimmers and nearly 20 percent are seeing 41 – 60 percent new swimmers. We can speculate that as parents looked to find a safer activity for their children, they Continued on next page... USSWIMSCHOOLS.ORG | 7
