The French Swimming Federation is boasting record-high membership numbers for the 2023-2024 season forward of a hosted Paris Olympics. Numbers launched final week confirmed 411,992 members, a rise of just about 10,000 members from the 402,138 members within the 2022-2023 season.
Whereas most massive swimming international locations see boosts in registrations within the season after the Olympics, France noticed one heading into Paris, although because the host nation for the Video games, the keenness for Olympic sport was excessive main into the Video games as nicely.
Giles Sezionale used the chance to name upon the newly-appointed French authorities to put money into growing older aquatic infrastructure within the nation, saying that the elevated participation and a rise in drownings within the nation has led to an absence of house.
“I welcome the brand new Prime Minister (Michel Barnier), who, I’m certain, given his previous within the Olympics, will probably be eager to deal with this concern,” Sezionale mentioned. Barnier was beforehand a member of the Sustainability and Legacy Fee of the IOC and a co-organizer of the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville.
“I solemnly ask him to take cost of the issue.
“With a pool inventory that’s on common 40 years outdated and the variety of drownings rising, the implementation of a large
plan for French swimming swimming pools should be a authorities precedence.
“Whereas I used to be delighted to see the keenness of elected officers in saluting the performances of Léon Marchand or Florent Manaudou, everybody at their stage of duty should create the circumstances for different skills to emerge: renovated swimming swimming pools, extra of them and an elevated place for FFN golf equipment,” Sezionale concluded.
Current reporting in France has set off alarm bells about will increase in drownings within the nation.
The success of French swimmer Leon Marchand, who gained 4 gold medals and a bronze and was the star of the Video games, is unquestionably to supply one other document excessive within the 2024-2025 season. Marchand, who will stay in France for a couple of months post-Olympics, was turn out to be a celebrity in his house nation – to the purpose that his races stopped competitors at different sports activities’ venues in the course of the Video games in order that followers may watch and have fun.
France just isn’t the one European federation to report will increase in members main into the Olympics. Germany, after dropping about 51,000 members (8.8%) in the course of the pandemic, the group gained about half of that again within the 2023 calendar 12 months, climbing to 588,438 members.
USA Swimming, in the meantime, reported a 4.61% decline in 2023, down from 393,370 in 2022 to 375,827 in 2023. These are each well-shy of the pre-pandemic highs of 419,427 in 2017.
USA Swimming has not launched its newest membership numbers but, however the group’s interim management expect the standard post-Olympic bump in registrations, and early anecdotal proof from membership coaches has supported that development.
The USA is the host of the following Summer season Olympic Video games in Los Angeles in 2028.
