Feedback Survey Results
Thank you so much for all those who took part in the MSOS membership survey. It was a great opportunity to get some feedback for our group, especially as it has grown so much over the past year. Having analysed the data, I am happy to share the pertinent parts with the group.
There were 118 responses, which represents around 20% of our total membership and is a fair sample for statistical purposes.
Around 70% of the respondents were women, although our membership is close enough to 50/50. So, the first observation would be that women respond better to requests for information 😊. Just as an aside, when the group first started we had very few male swimmers. In fact, if you look back on the earliest photos Tony was often our only token male. It was definitely a slow burn getting male membership higher and a big deal when males were the majority for the first time on a Sunday swim. As you can see now, we are generally pretty even, so we have definitely made progress there.
Our largest age group is the 51-60, followed closely by 41-50, then 31-40, 60+ and under 30s. This is fairly consistent with many sporting clubs and groups, whose memberships tend to follow the same pattern. And this is basically the demographic you see most Sundays. Younger swimmers are most definitely welcomed but probably have other things occupying their weekends.
Around 30% of the respondents had not swum with MSOS. The most common reason for not yet swimming was not feeling confident enough in their swimming ability to make the swim or general anxiety about trying an ocean swim. The other main reasons included believing they were not fast enough to keep up with the group, living too far away (Brisbane mainly) or having other commitments on the weekend. Turning up for your first swim can be challenging if you are new to ocean swimming. While our guideline is you need to be able to comfortably able to swim a kilometre, speed is not a prerequisite. Our group spreads out as we swim, with swimmers finding their own pack and a big pace difference between the front runners and the tail enders. If you know you can swim the distance, it really is a matter of coming along and having a go. We always look out for newbies and are happy to have someone swim with you on your first crossing of the bay. While pool swimming is different to open water, it is that pool fitness that will stand you in good stead in the ocean. As we do not generally encounter a lot of swell and waves, on a flat and calm day, swimming 1.8km in the ocean is definitely easier than doing the same distance in the pool.
Where members are located took in a very wide geographic circle! Interestingly only two respondents were from Mooloolaba itself but there were a lot in the immediate vicinity of Maroochydore, Buderim, Mountain Creek and Alexandra Headland as well as many from further afield on the coast (Caloundra, Warana, Bli Bli, Nambour, Minyama, Eudlo and even Noosa). A fair contingent were from various suburbs in Brisbane as well.
When asked what they felt they had gained from being part of an ocean swimming group, the responses were surprisingly similar, even though this was an individual response question. Overwhelmingly the main things that were mentioned were:
The questions about MSOS being welcoming to new members and if they would recommend MSOS to others were 100% positive, which was amazing and says so much about our group members. The development of MSOS was always very much aligned with taking that extra step in being welcoming and inclusive and I thank all members who continue to pay it forward when new people come along for a swim.
The question about feeling safe when swimming with MSOS was about 95% positive, with a few respondents responding “depends on conditions”. This is a tricky one. First and foremost we are a social swimming group, which it states on both our website and the Facebook page. We do not offer water safety, which means each member has to take personal responsibility for deciding if or not they will swim. With this summer being unusually challenging conditions wise, we have had many times where we either didn’t swim at all, or we have changed the course to stay in safer water. This is the most we can do to keep our members as safe as possible. We are so fortunate to have several very experienced surf lifesavers in our group and they do their utmost to analyse conditions and advise accordingly. If upon arriving at the beach and checking conditions you do not feel confident about swimming, it is up to you to make that call. We do our best to buddy people up and have an experienced swimmer stay at the back of the field, but ultimately individual safety still has to stay with each member.
There was a lot of interest in both the surf clinics to help understand ocean conditions better and swimming weekends/holidays. Having done several of both myself I know the value that these things bring in terms of gaining new skills as well as the fun and social side of being with a group of like-minded open water swimmers. It can be the ultimate holiday with a purpose. With many operators offering these kinds of experiences, it is something we can look at more closely and hopefully offer in the future. There was also interest in the beginner swims, unfortunately our beginner swims really got derailed this season by the weather and surf conditions, but they are definitely on the agenda to run again in the future.
The general feedback question at the end also brought a lot of responses even though this was a voluntary answer. Again this was almost all positive, with lots of thanks and appreciation for the group and how it is run and this was wonderful to hear. A few people mentioned it was the best swimming group or squad they had been involved with, which is always music to a group organiser’s ears! Several mentioned that the active Facebook page was very helpful in keeping up to date. The other main points mentioned included start times and and weekday swims. Like many group things, start times go with majority rules. For ocean swimming, generally the earlier you swim the better the conditions, with 8am or before considered the optimal time. Swimmers generally also tend to be morning people, often used to early morning training and happy to get their swim done before it gets too busy. Our start times are based on this. You will notice that weekday swims generally go at 6.30, so there is an option if you prefer an even earlier start. If you particularly want to swim later, you could always put up a post asking if anybody is interested in swimming later. A couple of people asked why we can’t just have a set weekday swim time every day. The reason we don’t have a set weekday swim is because at this time we don’t have enough people guaranteed to turn up on any given day. We don’t want to say, yes, turn up at 6.30 on a weekday if there’s a chance there won’t be anyone else to swim with. Our weekday swims have increased a lot this year and if you check the Facebook page most days you will see that there are people swimming. This is the best option for now. If the weekday swims grow to an extent that there is a crew there everyday then we can advertise that. For now if you want to swim on a weekday, just check the FB page the night before and see if anybody else is going. Or, alternatively, you can put up a post saying you’d like to swim and see if anybody else wants to come.
Thank you again for all those who took the time to respond to this survey, your feedback has been very valuable and appreciated. Our Facebook page remains our best means of communication, so I encourage you to check it regularly for any updates or discussions that are happening. It is also your port of call if you are checking if a swim is going ahead etc. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our most experienced swimmers who give freely of their time and knowledge to provide the safest group environment we can and to every MSOS member who has made this wonderful community what it is today.
Thank you so much for all those who took part in the MSOS membership survey. It was a great opportunity to get some feedback for our group, especially as it has grown so much over the past year. Having analysed the data, I am happy to share the pertinent parts with the group.
There were 118 responses, which represents around 20% of our total membership and is a fair sample for statistical purposes.
Around 70% of the respondents were women, although our membership is close enough to 50/50. So, the first observation would be that women respond better to requests for information 😊. Just as an aside, when the group first started we had very few male swimmers. In fact, if you look back on the earliest photos Tony was often our only token male. It was definitely a slow burn getting male membership higher and a big deal when males were the majority for the first time on a Sunday swim. As you can see now, we are generally pretty even, so we have definitely made progress there.
Our largest age group is the 51-60, followed closely by 41-50, then 31-40, 60+ and under 30s. This is fairly consistent with many sporting clubs and groups, whose memberships tend to follow the same pattern. And this is basically the demographic you see most Sundays. Younger swimmers are most definitely welcomed but probably have other things occupying their weekends.
Around 30% of the respondents had not swum with MSOS. The most common reason for not yet swimming was not feeling confident enough in their swimming ability to make the swim or general anxiety about trying an ocean swim. The other main reasons included believing they were not fast enough to keep up with the group, living too far away (Brisbane mainly) or having other commitments on the weekend. Turning up for your first swim can be challenging if you are new to ocean swimming. While our guideline is you need to be able to comfortably able to swim a kilometre, speed is not a prerequisite. Our group spreads out as we swim, with swimmers finding their own pack and a big pace difference between the front runners and the tail enders. If you know you can swim the distance, it really is a matter of coming along and having a go. We always look out for newbies and are happy to have someone swim with you on your first crossing of the bay. While pool swimming is different to open water, it is that pool fitness that will stand you in good stead in the ocean. As we do not generally encounter a lot of swell and waves, on a flat and calm day, swimming 1.8km in the ocean is definitely easier than doing the same distance in the pool.
Where members are located took in a very wide geographic circle! Interestingly only two respondents were from Mooloolaba itself but there were a lot in the immediate vicinity of Maroochydore, Buderim, Mountain Creek and Alexandra Headland as well as many from further afield on the coast (Caloundra, Warana, Bli Bli, Nambour, Minyama, Eudlo and even Noosa). A fair contingent were from various suburbs in Brisbane as well.
When asked what they felt they had gained from being part of an ocean swimming group, the responses were surprisingly similar, even though this was an individual response question. Overwhelmingly the main things that were mentioned were:
- Being part of a positive, like-minded community – aka finding your “tribe”
- Friendship/social connections
- Positive mental health
- Group fitness for all levels
- Improved confidence in open water swimming and feeling safe in a group
The questions about MSOS being welcoming to new members and if they would recommend MSOS to others were 100% positive, which was amazing and says so much about our group members. The development of MSOS was always very much aligned with taking that extra step in being welcoming and inclusive and I thank all members who continue to pay it forward when new people come along for a swim.
The question about feeling safe when swimming with MSOS was about 95% positive, with a few respondents responding “depends on conditions”. This is a tricky one. First and foremost we are a social swimming group, which it states on both our website and the Facebook page. We do not offer water safety, which means each member has to take personal responsibility for deciding if or not they will swim. With this summer being unusually challenging conditions wise, we have had many times where we either didn’t swim at all, or we have changed the course to stay in safer water. This is the most we can do to keep our members as safe as possible. We are so fortunate to have several very experienced surf lifesavers in our group and they do their utmost to analyse conditions and advise accordingly. If upon arriving at the beach and checking conditions you do not feel confident about swimming, it is up to you to make that call. We do our best to buddy people up and have an experienced swimmer stay at the back of the field, but ultimately individual safety still has to stay with each member.
There was a lot of interest in both the surf clinics to help understand ocean conditions better and swimming weekends/holidays. Having done several of both myself I know the value that these things bring in terms of gaining new skills as well as the fun and social side of being with a group of like-minded open water swimmers. It can be the ultimate holiday with a purpose. With many operators offering these kinds of experiences, it is something we can look at more closely and hopefully offer in the future. There was also interest in the beginner swims, unfortunately our beginner swims really got derailed this season by the weather and surf conditions, but they are definitely on the agenda to run again in the future.
The general feedback question at the end also brought a lot of responses even though this was a voluntary answer. Again this was almost all positive, with lots of thanks and appreciation for the group and how it is run and this was wonderful to hear. A few people mentioned it was the best swimming group or squad they had been involved with, which is always music to a group organiser’s ears! Several mentioned that the active Facebook page was very helpful in keeping up to date. The other main points mentioned included start times and and weekday swims. Like many group things, start times go with majority rules. For ocean swimming, generally the earlier you swim the better the conditions, with 8am or before considered the optimal time. Swimmers generally also tend to be morning people, often used to early morning training and happy to get their swim done before it gets too busy. Our start times are based on this. You will notice that weekday swims generally go at 6.30, so there is an option if you prefer an even earlier start. If you particularly want to swim later, you could always put up a post asking if anybody is interested in swimming later. A couple of people asked why we can’t just have a set weekday swim time every day. The reason we don’t have a set weekday swim is because at this time we don’t have enough people guaranteed to turn up on any given day. We don’t want to say, yes, turn up at 6.30 on a weekday if there’s a chance there won’t be anyone else to swim with. Our weekday swims have increased a lot this year and if you check the Facebook page most days you will see that there are people swimming. This is the best option for now. If the weekday swims grow to an extent that there is a crew there everyday then we can advertise that. For now if you want to swim on a weekday, just check the FB page the night before and see if anybody else is going. Or, alternatively, you can put up a post saying you’d like to swim and see if anybody else wants to come.
Thank you again for all those who took the time to respond to this survey, your feedback has been very valuable and appreciated. Our Facebook page remains our best means of communication, so I encourage you to check it regularly for any updates or discussions that are happening. It is also your port of call if you are checking if a swim is going ahead etc. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our most experienced swimmers who give freely of their time and knowledge to provide the safest group environment we can and to every MSOS member who has made this wonderful community what it is today.
