Bluefins 15yrs+ Retention Trend (2021–2025)

January 2026

What sustained teenage engagement looks like on the path to lifelong fitness

Keeping teenagers engaged in swimming is one of the biggest challenges across the sport. National research consistently shows high dropout rates during the mid-teens, with many swimmers stepping away due to pressure, school commitments, or loss of enjoyment.

Against this backdrop, Bluefins has achieved something rare: five consecutive years of growth in our 15+ age group.

From 2021 to 2025, our senior swimmers have risen from 27 to 58, with consistent increases across the Performance, Competitive/County, and Fitness pathways.

Most clubs see their teenage numbers fall sharply, often halving between ages 14–17. We have moved in the opposite direction, more than doubling the number of swimmers aged 15+.

Year-by-Year Pathway Breakdown (15+ Swimmers)

Year	Total	Performance	Competitive& County	Fitness
2025	58	27	20	9
2024	44	12	25	7
2023	39	12	22	5
2022	33	10	15	8
2021	27	8	17	2

Across this period, Bluefins has more than doubled the number of swimmers aged 15+ at a life stage where most clubs see decline.

What the Five-Year Trend Shows

Retention is rising every single year

27 → 33 → 39 → 44 → 58 A consistent upward trajectory that remains unusual in national participation patterns.

Performance Pathway growth is exceptional

Many clubs lose performance swimmers after age 15. Our growth from 8 to 27 reflects both swimmer progression and a deliberate structural update during 2025.

As increasing numbers of swimmers reached Performance standards, we refreshed the Performance pathway to support that demand. This included:

• clearer, age-appropriate progression routes

• improved alignment across senior pathways

• increased access to Performance coaching

• expanded opportunities for swimmers ready for higher-level training

This ensured transitions were sustainable and appropriate, rather than forced or accelerated. Combined with reduced dropout during GCSE and college years, this explains the significant growth seen in 2025.

Competitive/County Pathway remains healthy

This pathway continues to retain swimmers who want structured training without full performance demands.

Changes in numbers, particularly from 2024 to 2025 reflect redistribution across pathways rather than dropout, with swimmers progressing into Performance or choosing Junior Masters. Many clubs lose these swimmers entirely; we continue to support them.

Fitness Pathway is a major retention driver

Growing from 2 to 9, the Fitness pathway provides:

• a pressure-free route

• continued social connection

• regular training without competition demands

Each Fitness swimmer represents a saved dropout — a young person who has remained active rather than leaving the sport altogether.

This pattern is also reflected within our Fitness Club squads (Club1 and Club2, ages 12–17). Both squads have seen a recent surge in membership and are now operating close to capacity. Importantly, this includes swimmers who previously followed competitive pathways and have chosen to transition towards fitness-focused goals while still in their teenage years.

When credible, age-appropriate alternatives exist within the teenage years, swimmers are far more likely to stay involved. Fitness-focused pathways at this stage are not a step away from swimming, but a continuation of it, supporting confidence, enjoyment, and the foundations for lifelong physical activity.

The Role of Junior Masters in Teenage Retention

Retaining swimmers beyond the age of 15 is increasingly recognised as one of the most important challenges in the sport. At Bluefins, this focus is not driven by policy alone, but by a clear understanding of the pressures young people face as they move through their late teens.

Junior Masters was created to support swimmers aged 15–17 who have come through competitive pathways and want to continue training during a demanding stage of life, without being forced into an all-or-nothing choice.

The programme offers flexibility in how swimmers train and compete, keeping future options open. Swimmers remain eligible to race when they choose, but without the pressure of a fixed competition schedule or expectations that may no longer fit their circumstances.

Junior Masters provides a mature, age-appropriate environment that values autonomy and balance, while maintaining structure, fitness, and technical quality. It recognises these swimmers as young adults, capable of making informed decisions about how they stay involved.

This is a growing and genuinely exciting area for the club, but it is not the easy option. Supporting teenagers to see that there are positive routes beyond simply giving up the sport requires far more thought, flexibility, and trust than chasing short-term results.

Winning medals is visible. Retaining swimmers through their late teens is quieter work, but it is where long-term impact is made.

What Research Tells Us

• Dropout during the mid-teen years is consistently high across sport. Systematic Review of Youth Swimming Participation (PMC)

• The most common reasons for leaving the sport include academic pressure, reduced enjoyment and difficulty balancing training demands. Queen’s University Belfast Motivation & Dropout Study (Pure)

• Retention improves when swimmers are offered flexibility, social connection and pathways that match their motivation and life stage. Widely reported across national youth sport participation studies

Our multi-pathway structure — Performance, Competitive/County, Fitness, and Junior Masters directly addresses these evidence-based factors.

Facilities and Future Capacity

Sustaining this level of engagement brings its own challenges. The club is currently operating very close to capacity, and as participation grows, access to pool time becomes increasingly important.

Retention, progression, and lifelong involvement all depend on facilities keeping pace with demand. Expanding opportunities for swimming in Basingstoke will be essential if we are to continue supporting young people through their late teens and into adulthood.

Encouragingly, plans for a new eight-lane pool in the town, anticipated later in the decade, point to an exciting next phase for swimming locally. Improved facilities would allow us to better match growing participation, support long-term development, and expand programmes that keep swimmers engaged well beyond their early years.

If delivered, this investment would create the conditions for us to operate at our full potential, strengthening the swimming community and supporting lifelong involvement in the sport.

Masters: the Next Stage of the Journey

This retention-focused approach is also reflected in the strength of our Masters programme, which represents the next stage of the swimming journey for many athletes.

While Masters swimming sits beyond the scope of this 15+ review, its success matters. It shows what happens when swimmers are supported to remain connected through their teenage years and into adulthood. Junior Masters and Fitness pathways do not exist in isolation — they form a bridge into Masters swimming, where participation, performance where desired, and community continue to sit side by side.

In this sense, Masters is not an endpoint, but a continuation: proof that swimming can remain a positive, rewarding part of life well beyond the teenage years.

Why This Matters

This five-year trend reflects more than internal success. It shows what can happen when swimmer development, pathway flexibility, and cultural support are aligned with how teenagers actually experience the sport.

We are on the same page as national and regional bodies in recognising the importance of retention, but we are also acting independently and proactively to support young people at one of the most challenging stages of their sporting lives.

In a period where many clubs see teenage participation fall, our numbers continue to rise.

That is not accidental. It is the result of deliberate choices, thoughtful pathways, and a belief that keeping young people connected to swimming matters just as much as early success.

Curated by Spencer Turner - Head of Swimming, Basingstoke Bluefins Swimming Club