As we take a little break between seasons, Minnesota Swim and Vibe wanted to look at some numbers to get a sense of health of our sport at the club level. This is public information, so no crazy sleuthing needed to be done much to our dismay. We like to sleuth.
We looked at historical data of two key measures of health of club swimming. Both are simple and easy to understand.
The first is simply an enrollment number. How many kids participate in club swimming in the year. Here’s what we found:
2014 – 9212
2019 – 8739
2022 – 8091
2023 – 7567
Using some St. Olaf math, we have concluded that this is a 17.9% decrease in participation in club swimming in less than ten years.
We also looked at the number of clubs in the state over that same period.
2014 – 71
2019 – 65
2022 – 59
2023 – 56
Using the same mathematical skills, a 21.1% decrease
I think most people would agree that this isn’t a good sign for the sport. It’s an interconnected ecosystem. What happens in the clubs impacts high school and college swimming. This raises some important questions.
First, what does this mean for swimming in Minnesota long term? Is it a blip? Is it recoverable? Is it the end of swimming as we know it?
Second, What’s the root cause? I will jump in here to tackle an obvious, but unlikely correct answer, COVID. The data shows that swimmer count dipped during 2019 through 2021, but made a strong recovery in 2022, only to drop to a peak COVID level in 2023. Club data shows the decline started pre COVID years and the overall trend is negative.
The answer is probably a combination of factors, many of which we as a swim community can control. Minnesota Swim and Vibe is going to reach out to some club coaches, Minnesota Swim Inc, and intake some general public feedback to try to get a clearer picture of what’s going on. If you have insight, you can email mnswimandvibe@gmail.com. We will keep your name anonymous unless you direct us otherwise.
Editorial:
More than likely, there are identifiable reasons with practical solutions. I truly believe that. The question that gnaws as me personally, is do we have enough people willing to do the work to correct it. I believe it will take an unselfish, coordinated and strong swimming community to accomplish, and that, in my opinion, is an opportunity for us, not a strength.
Count the Vibe in!