Swim schools and youth sports franchise finance
The median brand here reports average revenue of $914,964 a unit. Percentage fees at the median brand come to 9% of sales. The median cost to open runs $369,812 to $1,035,779.
Swim schools and youth sports franchises at a glance
- Averan Franchise compares ten swim schools and youth sports franchise brands, each from its own 2026 FDD.
- The cost to open a swim schools and youth sports franchise runs from $44,800 at Skyhawks Sports Academy to $3,746,733 at Goldfish Swim School.
- Goldfish Swim School reports the highest average sales of these brands, at $1,994,169, and Skyhawks Sports Academy the lowest, at $178,521.
- Franchise fees take 8% to 18.35% of sales across the ten brands where Averan Franchise works out the figure.
These figures come from each brand's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, as the brand reported them, and were read by Averan Advisors.
Find a swim schools and youth sports brand
This guide covers ten brands, each from its own 2026 FDD. Open one, or pick two and compare them.
All 10 brands
The brands in this group
Each brand has its own page on how its locations make money, with every figure set out against the brand’s disclosure document it comes from.
- Aqua-Tots average, median, high and low sales by three regions with attainment counts · Aqua-Tots’ eight California schools averaged 2.7 times the 116 schools outside its five metro states in 2025.
- Big Blue Swim School average/median/high-low, mature vs building up · A $71,500 minimum royalty and a marketing scale that falls as you grow
- British Swim School Full P&L · The royalty stops being a percentage and becomes a $42,000 number from year four
- Goldfish Swim School Full P&L · Full ten-line P&L plus a matching one for the first full year
- i9 Sports 294 locations · Part I registration revenue with average venues, average sports and MARKET PENETRATION RATE for all units and by half; Chart 2 average registration revenue by venue count (1 through 6+); Part II a full income statement to operating profit for all units and by half
- KidStrong 156 locations · Revenue by quartile, two formats
- SafeSplash Swim School Full P&L · Two formats, two full P&Ls
- Skyhawks Sports Academy 65 locations · Every franchised and affiliate reporting group named individually
- The Little Gym 255 locations · The filing splits its own quartiles by whether the franchisee is private-equity backed, and the backed group wins every one
- Water Wings Swim School 0 locations · Occupancy share at the highest- and lowest-sales school
The figures, brand by brand
| Measure | Median | Brands | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average sales per unit | $914,964 | 10 of 10 | Median of each brand’s disclosed average |
| Median sales per unit | $964,348 | 9 of 10 | Median of each brand’s disclosed median |
| Initial franchise fee | $50,000 | 10 of 10 | |
| Royalty | 6.8% | 10 of 10 | Headline rate |
| Brand or advertising fund | 2% | 10 of 10 | |
| Fees paid to the brand | 9% | 10 of 10 | Royalty, brand fund and other fees paid to the brand or its affiliates, as a share of average sales |
| Cost to open, low | $369,812 | 10 of 10 | |
| Cost to open, high | $1,035,779 | 10 of 10 | |
| Profit margin | 25.4% | 6 of 10 | Each brand’s own profit line; definitions differ |
| Labor, share of revenue | 32.9% | 5 of 10 | |
| Building costs, share of revenue | 16.8% | 5 of 10 | |
| Unit growth over each FDD’s Item 20 period (2025, or 2023 to 2025) | 12% | 9 of 10 | (End − start) ÷ start |
| Customers lost over each FDD’s Item 20 period (2025, or 2023 to 2025) | 2.8% | 9 of 10 | Terminated, non-renewed, reacquired and ceased, ÷ opening units; transfers excluded |
Each figure is the median of the brands that disclose it, and the Brands column counts them.
How we calculated this
Revenue is each brand's own reported figure on its own unit basis, so the median describes the group and no single brand. Growth and customers lost are our calculations from each brand's outlet table. Where fewer than three brands disclose a figure, no benchmark is shown.
The model
The business model the top performers in swim schools and youth sports are running
What the top performers can do that others cannot
Four of the ten brands here sell a place for a child. Filling a fixed building is the constraint: occupancy runs 16.8% of sales at the middle brand, and the rent does not move when the week is quiet. Rostering against demand is the constraint: wages run 32.9% of sales at the middle brand, more than any other line.
What the customer is buying
The customer buys a place held week after week. A location at the middle swim school brand sells $914,964 a year, and the median top group sells $1,505,955. The offer is the same at both ends of that range, so the difference is volume.
Who the customer is, and how often they come back
This is a retention business. The money is made in the second year of a customer, not the first month, so the number that decides the year is how many stay. Among the swim schools and youth sports brands that publish it, a median 41% of locations reach their own brand’s average. The top group sells $1,505,955 against $387,648 at the bottom. Trade area and site set that range before an owner takes a booking.
How the money works
Opening costs $44,800 to $3,746,733 across the group, and inside one brand the top of the range is typically 1.8 times the bottom. At the middle brand the cost stack runs wages 32.9%, occupancy 16.8%, cost of sales 3.1%, franchise fees 9.0% of sales. What is left runs 25.4% at the middle brand, which is $383,266 a year at the top group and $98,656 at the bottom. The percentage changes little between them; the dollars change a lot. Four of these brands publish how a new location builds up, so the first year can be read out of the document instead of guessed at.
Top performers
These are the things that separate top performers in swim schools and youth sports
Across the swim schools and youth sports brands that publish both figures, the median top group of locations sells $1,505,955 a year and the median bottom group sells $387,648. Across these brands, a median of 41% of locations reach their own brand’s average.
Decided before you open
- Opening cost against sales.The top group sells $1,505,955 a year against a build that tops out at $3,746,733, so at the heavy end of the range a location sells $0.40 for every dollar it cost to open.
- Rent as a share of sales.Occupancy runs 16.8% of sales at the middle brand, which on median sales of $914,964 is $153,714 of rent a year. That same $153,714 is 10.2% of sales at the top group and 39.7% at the bottom. Top-group locations put more sales through the same square footage, with longer earning hours, a second daypart, and a site picked for traffic.
Live operating levers
- Four of the ten brands here sell a place for a child.
Business model attribute
- Service
- A place for a child, paid by the month or term
- Unit economics
- Places filled times the fee for each place
- Four of the ten brands here publish how a new location builds up.
Business model attribute
- Service
- The FDD’s month-by-month build-up of a new location
- Unit economics
- Months until sales cover costs
- Wages by brand.Wages run 32.9% of sales at the middle brand and 28.3% to 35.5% across the five that disclose it. The levers are scheduling against booked demand hour by hour, sales per paid hour, and keeping part of pay variable. On the top group’s $1,505,955 of sales, a point of wages is $15,060 a year; on the bottom group’s $387,648 it is $3,876.
- Cost of goods by brand.Products and materials take 3.1% of sales at the middle brand, 2.7% to 29.1% across the three that disclose it. The levers on this line are buying on the brand program, holding the price list instead of discounting to close, and counting waste weekly.
- Profit margin.Of the six brands that publish a profit line, the middle one keeps 25.4% of sales, from 21.3% to 28.1%. The cost lines above move by a few points between the highest-selling and lowest-selling locations while sales move by multiples. At a 25.4% margin, the top group earns $383,266 a year and the bottom group $98,656.
- Fees as a share of sales.Fees run a median 9.0% of sales across ten brands, from 8.0% to 18.4%. Where a minimum applies, lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. At $1,505,955 the fees cost $135,687 a year; at $387,648 they cost $34,927.
Context you underwrite around
- First-year build-up.Four of ten filings in this group show how a new location builds up. The others do not show it.
Operating levers
What each brand’s top performers actually work on
These are the levers each brand's filing supports. Each brand has three to five, read from its own 2026 FDD. Filter by type of business, or open a brand for the figures underneath.
8 brands
Big Blue Swim School
Swim schools and youth sports
- Enrollment. The license sets the number of places. Track how many are filled, the price of each, and how long families stay.
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 10.0% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
- Cash needed in the first year. This filing shows how a new location builds up: the month sales cover costs, and how much cash you fund before then.
British Swim School
Swim schools and youth sports
- Wages. Wages take 32.9% of sales, against 25.1% kept at the end. The levers are staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission.
- Occupancy cost. Rent and building costs take 16.8% of sales here. The rent is fixed when the lease is signed, so this share falls only as sales per square foot rise.
- Enrollment. The license sets the number of places. Track how many are filled, the price of each, and how long families stay.
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 12.0% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
- Cash needed in the first year. This filing shows how a new location builds up: the month sales cover costs, and how much cash you fund before then.
Goldfish Swim School
Swim schools and youth sports
- Wages. Wages take 35.3% of sales, against 28.1% kept at the end. The levers are staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission.
- Occupancy cost. Rent and building costs take 11.4% of sales here. The rent is fixed when the lease is signed, so this share falls only as sales per square foot rise.
- Enrollment. The license sets the number of places. Track how many are filled, the price of each, and how long families stay.
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 8.0% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
- Cash needed in the first year. This filing shows how a new location builds up: the month sales cover costs, and how much cash you fund before then.
i9 Sports
Swim schools and youth sports
- Products and materials. Products and materials take 29.1% of sales, against 25.2% kept at the end. The levers are buying terms, price discipline and waste.
- Occupancy cost. Rent and building costs take 11.0% of sales here. The rent is fixed when the lease is signed, so this share falls only as sales per square foot rise.
- Enrollment. The license sets the number of places. Track how many are filled, the price of each, and how long families stay.
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 10.3% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
KidStrong
Swim schools and youth sports
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 18.4% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
- Membership drives the model. Track how many members join, how many cancel, and what each member spends beyond the plan.
- Sales depend on sessions. The room holds a set number of people at a set time, so the owner works on how full each session runs.
Skyhawks Sports Academy
Swim schools and youth sports
- Sales depend on sessions. The room holds a set number of people at a set time, so the owner works on how full each session runs.
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 8.0% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
- Cash needed in the first year. This filing shows how a new location builds up: the month sales cover costs, and how much cash you fund before then.
The Little Gym
Swim schools and youth sports
- Membership drives the model. Track how many members join, how many cancel, and what each member spends beyond the plan.
- Gift cards. Gift cards are sold before the service is delivered, and sales peak around the holidays. A gift card is deferred revenue until it is redeemed, so cash and earned revenue arrive in different periods.
- Service and retail mix. Retail sales and the share of customers on higher service tiers raise revenue per hour without adding hours or rooms.
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 9.0% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
Water Wings Swim School
Swim schools and youth sports
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 9.0% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
- Membership drives the model. Track how many members join, how many cancel, and what each member spends beyond the plan.
- Occupancy cost. Rent and building costs take 20.1% of sales here. The rent is fixed when the lease is signed, so this share falls only as sales per square foot rise.
- Wages. Wages take 35.5% of sales. The levers are staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission.
Swim schools and youth sports cost lines as a share of sales
Five of the ten swim schools and youth sports brands in Averan Franchise disclose what their locations spend on wages, rent and space, or cost of goods. Each figure is a share of the average location's sales, from the brand's 2026 FDD. Rent and space covers rent and the other costs of the premises.
| Brand | Wages | Rent and space | Cost of goods |
|---|---|---|---|
| British Swim School | 32.9% | 16.8% | 2.7% |
| Goldfish Swim School | 35.3% | 11.4% | Not disclosed |
| i9 Sports | 28.3% | 11.0% | 29.1% |
| SafeSplash Swim School | 32.7% | 20.0% | Not disclosed |
| Water Wings Swim School | 35.5% | 20.1% | 3.1% |
How fast new swim schools and youth sports locations build sales
The pages for three of the ten swim schools and youth sports brands in Averan Franchise show how a new location's sales build after opening, by month or by years open, in dollars from each brand's FDD. The months before sales cover costs are the ones to plan cash for, and the minimum fee calculator shows what the fees cost during them.
Common questions
How much does a swim schools and youth sports franchise cost to open?
Among the ten swim schools and youth sports brands in Averan Franchise that publish it, the cost to open runs from $44,800 at Skyhawks Sports Academy to $3,746,733 at Goldfish Swim School, according to their 2026 FDDs.
Which swim schools and youth sports franchise costs the least to open?
Skyhawks Sports Academy has the lowest starting cost of the swim schools and youth sports brands in Averan Franchise, at $44,800 to $96,750.
Which swim schools and youth sports franchise has the highest average sales?
Goldfish Swim School reports the highest average sales of the swim schools and youth sports brands in Averan Franchise, at $1,994,169 in its 2026 FDD.
What do swim schools and youth sports franchise fees cost as a share of sales?
Across the ten swim schools and youth sports brands where Averan Franchise works out the figure, franchise fees take 8% to 18.35% of sales.
Questions owners ask next
The figures above raise these, and each one is answered on its own page.
- At what level of sales does a minimum fee stop costing me more than the percentage?It works out the sales level where a minimum fee stops applying.
- How much cash do I fund before a new location covers its own costs?It builds a 13-week forecast for the months before break-even.
- My payroll percentage keeps climbing. Is that a payroll problem?It shows how to tell whether payroll is rising or revenue is falling.
- I run several locations. Which ones actually make money?It shows each location's contribution to profit and the reporting it takes to see it.
- How much of Item 19 can I rely on?It explains what an Item 19 financial performance representation tells you and what it leaves out.
Run your own numbers.
The Franchise Numbers Check runs the same checks on your own numbers. It scores where you stand and compares you with Item 19 of your brand’s FDD. It works out what one location earns and spends, and builds a 13-week cash forecast. It checks whether you are ready to open another one. It is free and it runs in your browser.
Launch the diagnostic →Where do your numbers sit against your brand's?
We review your unit economics, cash forecast and reporting, benchmarked against your own brand’s filed numbers.
Talk to AveranWhere these figures come from
Every figure here comes from the brands' 2026 FDDs and is unaudited by us. We are unaffiliated with the brands. The medians, growth and customers lost figures are our own calculations. The figures describe past performance at other businesses. They are not a projection of your results. This page is an educational summary and is not an offer to sell a franchise or financial, legal or tax advice. All trademarks belong to their owners. How Averan reads a Franchise Disclosure Document.