New beginnings

Andy Salmon took up the role of Swim England CEO in February 2024. He talks to Tom Walker about the first 12 months in the post, which included the launch of the NGB’s new strategy for swimming

When Andy Salmon became Swim England CEO, he succeeded Jane Nickerson, who had spent more than 25 years with the national governing body of swimming. While Nickerson had spent her entire career within swimming, Salmon came to the role with a more diverse sporting background. He started his career in golf, working for the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA), before moving to commercial sport with stints as director of golf for hotel giant, Marriott, and as Group Golf & Leisure Manager for the De Vere Group. Salmon was also Director of the World Masters Golf Championship and spent nearly a decade as development director and deputy CEO at Scottish Golf. After a long career in golf, Salmon was appointed British Triathlon CEO, a role he held for nearly seven years before joining Swim England.

“I’ve been fortunate to have gained some incredible experiences and learned from inspirational leaders during my career – and also some not so inspirational ones,” Salmon says. “Some of my career highlights include refereeing at the Ryder Cup in 1997 and having a rules ‘debate’ with Seve Ballesteros in front of tens of millions of TV viewers. My stints in the hotel industry taught me a lot about customer service and leadership and I loved my time as CEO at Triathlon – a wonderful sport that has so many positive attributes due to its relatively modern origins.”

You’ve worked in sport for more than 30 years. How has the sector changed in those years? From an NGB perspective, the remit has grown beyond all recognition. Quite rightly, in most instances, society demands more from those in positions of leadership – but this can be incredibly challenging when you are expected to hold a credible view on all things ranging from technical sporting matters to geo-politics and some very complex social issues. This is why, in my view, adopting a values-based approach to leadership is the only way to navigate such a wide scope of activity and responsibility.

I feel strongly that the sector needs to get better at collaboration so that together, we can achieve more with less. Sport and physical activity have such a crucial role to play in society, now more than ever before, and so it is vital that we make this case to government and the private sector. Greater collaboration can also ensure everyone is safe to experience the joys of sport and physical activity.

What attracted you to the role of Swim England CEO? I think it was a combination of a number of factors. In all my time in sport I have seen first-hand the huge benefits sport and physical activity can have on peoples’ lives. With an ageing population – and more people living with health conditions – the positive impact of exercise is only going to become more and more important for our society.

I would argue that swimming is almost uniquely placed to be at the very heart of efforts to support the health and wellbeing of the country. The properties of water mean it can be an ideal location for people who may struggle to be active on land to exercise and swimming (in its broadest sense) is also an activity that is enjoyed by people from birth right up to people in their 90s still enjoying a regular dip and all the benefits that come with it. This is borne out by the figures that show that over 450,000 over 75s swim each year in England. So, the ability to be in a role with the potential to positively impact society was a hugely motivating factor for me.

A second motivating factor was that, through my time at British Triathlon, I obviously had some links to the world of aquatics and had seen how many amazing people were involved in the sports and what an incredible community the aquatics community is, so that was another appealing factor.

We need policymakers to recognise the importance of swimming and support the sector

Finally, on a personal level, I am quite a ‘change’ oriented person. I get that change can be a little scary, but I find it energising and, for all the good things that Swim England was doing before I came in, it was also clear that there were areas where change was sorely needed and that the organisation needed to change and improve. So that change project, particularly when coupled with the potential in my earlier points, was another reason why I was attracted to the role.

You’ve now been in the role for nearly a year. How would you describe the first 12 months? Busy, intense, exciting, challenging but rewarding. Swim England is a large NGB, covering a number of disciplines, all unique and incredible in their own ways. We also cover a lot of incredibly important ground outside of the “traditional” NGB space through our health and wellbeing work. It’s a cliché, but true, to say that no two days are the same. I feel more excited than ever about the potential of swimming and the opportunities ahead.

What would you describe as your main achievement in the first 12 months? We’ve done a lot in the past twelve months, and lots of things we can be proud of, but if I had to pick out one thing then I would say the publication of our new strategy – One Swim England – stands out for me as an important milestone. In a large part because of the process we went through to get to the point of publication.

It’s so important that we as Swim England are a listening organisation and do things “with” rather than “to” the aquatics community. To that end we undertook a huge listening exercise, running 26 ‘Vision and Values’ sessions around the country for any member of the aquatics community to come and tell us their views on the future of aquatics and what they wanted to see from Swim England and crucially the values that were important to them.

Hundreds of people took part in those sessions helping to shape the strategy that has emerged as an output and strengthening it in the process through their involvement. I’m particularly excited about the mandate this has given us to lead the sports combined with our commitment to serving a growing aquatics community.

What are One Swim England strategy’s main priorities, aims and targets? We have given the new strategy this name as we wanted to articulate our ambition to improve collaboration, both internally and externally. To plagiarize President Truman, I believe that if we all worry less about who takes the credit, it will be amazing what can be accomplished.

Our Vision is ‘Great Experiences in water. For all. For Life.’ Simply put, if we succeed in ensuring everyone in the community, no matter their ability or stage in life, has a great experience then we’ll be in pretty good shape.

Through ‘One Swim England’ our mission is simple – ‘To lead and serve an aquatics community to enable safe, enjoyable and successful experiences.’

This strategy places a strong focus on values – the behaviours that will guide everything we do and what we expect of each other – and are a direct result of what the community told us really mattered as we gathered our insights. It also signals our intent to enable great experiences in water for everyone, no matter their ability, age or background.

At the heart of our mission is a safe, inclusive and welcoming environment where all feel valued, supported, and motivated to excel – whether they are a participant (novice to elite), parent, coach, club volunteer, swimming teacher or operator. We are dedicated to making their experience as seamless and enjoyable as possible, providing the resources, support and guidance they need to succeed and thrive in their role – so they can focus on what they do best. This strategy is our new roadmap for the future.

Behind the strategy sit a number of very tangible KPIs that we, and the wider swimming community, will hold ourselves accountable to for the duration of the strategy.

Swim England also published a 10-year “Access Aquatics” strategy as recently as May 2023. How does that fit One Swim England? One Swim England is the organisational strategy for Swim England moving forward and replaces Access Aquatics. There was much to be commended in Access Aquatics and a number of the issues prioritised within it can very much be found in One Swim England, but for me it was inconceivable in the light of the listening report to have a strategy that didn’t put the culture and values of our organisation, and our sports, at its very heart.

So that is very much what we have sought to do with One Swim England, in consultation with the aquatics community itself through the Values and Vision sessions across the country.

The sector’s biggest strength is its people – volunteers, teachers, and operators driving change recognise the importance of swimming and support the sector

What will the priorities for Swim England be for 2025? While the One Swim England strategy has 18 goals in total, eight priorities have been identified for 2025. This is because it simply wouldn’t be possible, or appropriate, to focus on all 18 goals in the next 12 months. We have prioritised the areas that we believe will lay the foundations for long term, sustainable success, right across the strategy.

The priority areas for 2025 are a mixture of four foundational goals, which are to shift the culture, trusted welfare and safeguarding, stronger clubs and effective Learn to Swim. Then there are four enabling goals: build trust, connected digital ecosystem, outstanding people and grow revenues.

What about the aims beyond 2025, over the mid-term (the next 3-5 years)? We can’t ignore the huge challenges facing pools, leisure centres and lidos. We’ve seen almost 500 publicly available swimming pools lost in England since 2010 and many more under threat as a result of ageing facilities, financial pressures on local authorities and increased operating costs (particularly energy and staffing). Therefore, ensuring access to water in the future will be a critically important challenge to address for everyone who relies on the water.

We also know that there remains much work to do to tackle the existing inequalities we see in both participation and swimming attainment levels so we have to retain a focus on making sure swimming is an activity that truly is for everyone.

How would you describe the current state of the aquatics industry? It’s fair to say that it’s a mixed picture depending on what part of the ‘industry’ we’re talking about but I think if I were to try and sum it up as a whole then I would say the industry is in a fragile place.

It has been buffeted by a series of external shocks in recent times. First with the pandemic, then energy price surges and rising staffing costs all whilst local authorities deal with increased demand for statutory services.

With the right support, I believe the sector is ready to fly and help tackle so many of the issues facing us as a nation. But that support is key. We need policymakers to recognise the importance of swimming and to support the sector to deliver what we know it can.

What are the sector’s biggest strengths? Without a doubt it is the people. We are fortunate to have amazing people doing incredible things, whether that’s volunteers giving up their time so athletes have the chance to train and compete in the sports they love, swimming teachers imparting a lifetime of love for the water in children, coaches developing athletes right across the country, pool operators innovating to keep pools open and running, organisations like Swim Dem Crew, Unity Swimming and the Black Swimming Association working to tackle the inequalities we sadly see in aquatics.

Another strength for the sector is the government’s rhetoric around shifting the NHS from treating people in hospitals to preventing people getting ill in the community. It’s clear as day to me that swimming is almost unique among sports in its ability to support the health and wellbeing agenda.

I think this is a real strength of the sector – that ability to positively impact the health of the nation is a huge strength and a really powerful argument when trying to make the case for investment into pools.

And what about its weaknesses? Ultimately, everything within the sector relies on access to water (even most outdoor swimmers will learn in a pool). That access is under very real threat. We’ve lost almost 500 pools since 2010, and more than 50% of the publicly available space lost in that time has been lost since 2020, indicating the pace of closures is increasing, which is definitely reflected in our mailbag at Swim England.

The increased costs of running pools, especially in light of the recent changes to Employers National Insurance contributions which operators have told us will cost them close to £100 million, coupled with the perilous state of many local authority budgets is a huge concern.

That’s why it’s so important that we do all we can to ensure the country continues to have a network of sustainable pools to support all the amazing activities that take place in them and are so loved by local communities who recognise their importance.

If you could introduce one piece of legislation to help aquatics, what would that be? Can I be greedy and have a few? If so, one would be to get serious about school swimming and water safety, so that every child is set up to be safe in and around the water.

Another would be for the government to commit the funding necessary to deliver a network of sustainable pools fit for the future. Thirdly, I’d clean up and increase access to our outdoor blue spaces to support the continued growth in outdoor swimming.

Swim England’s priorities for 2025

The One Swim England strategy identifies 18 goals in total, from which eight priorities have been identified for 2025. Andy Salmon explains each in detail.

Shift the culture

In response to the Listening Report, we will continue to rebuild Swim England’s culture and restore trust through a values-led approach that has been co-created with the aquatic community. We aim to create a culture where everyone feels safe to experience the joys of aquatics. Individuals are encouraged to participate, learn and grow, while also feeling supported to achieve their personal goals.

Trusted welfare and safeguarding

We have already made significant progress in creating a safe, inclusive, and welcoming environment where everyone feels valued and empowered to enjoy aquatic activities. We will continue to focus on a person-centred approach, ensuring that everyone understands acceptable behaviour and can report concerns confidently and without fear.

Stronger clubs

Aquatic clubs are at the heart of our sports, striving to create exceptional experiences for their members, officials, volunteers, coaches and parents. We are committed to supporting our clubs by helping them deliver their core purpose and providing the tailored assistance they need to achieve their full potential.

Effective Learn to Swim

We want people of all ages – from toddlers to adults – to learn to swim and enjoy the benefits. To make this happen, we will continue to lead the way with education, support, and advocacy, helping more people become confident swimmers.

Build trust

Our members and customers will remain at the heart of everything we do, and we will ensure they consistently receive exceptional service at every interaction with us.

We will also continue to leverage our brand and voice to positively support the entire aquatics industry.

Connected digital ecosystem

We will create a joined-up and seamless digital journey, making the online experience more user-friendly for members and stakeholders, enhancing administrative efficiency for clubs and easing the administrative burden on volunteers.

Outstanding people

Aquatic activities rely on the tireless efforts of thousands of dedicated teachers, coaches, officials, tutors, volunteers and colleagues who make it all happen. Recruiting, retaining, supporting, nurturing and developing an exceptional team of paid and volunteer workers is essential to the success of our sports.

Grow revenues

We are committed to growing our revenue to secure a strong, successful future for aquatics. By prioritising self-sufficiency, we can invest more in both community and elite levels of our sport.