In 1998 before the growth of the vast Internet information highway that we know today, competitive swimwear was primarily supplied by a few mail order specialists which, perhaps depending on the club, were not generally well advertised. Essential information for parents new to competitive swimming was relatively difficult to come by, coaches were frequently too removed to help or advise and most general sports shops lacked any understanding of the requirement of the young competitor. It was as a direct result of this dearth of information that Swim Stop was launched in the October of that year with the express intention of providing a useful and knowledgeable service for any swimmer.
Our first shop was in the corner of a local leisure centre supporting just one club and the leisure centre's own customers. This soon changed as visiting swimming clubs discovered the advantages of having knowledgeable staff to discuss and advise on equipment and suits. After a year the shop floor space was trebled and 4 years later we moved to our own much larger premises close by. swimstop.co.uk was first put up as a static site in 2000 and was followed by a full e-commerce site in 2002 which has evolved through 4 generations to the site as you see it now.
Our shop in Waterlooville in Hampshire is staffed primarily by competitive swimmers or parents of competitive swimmers plus a swimming coach with 10 years invaluable experience and we are proud of the service and advice we are able to offer to all our customers. Whilst the internet has become a prime feature of Swim Stop's business, the shop's customer base continues to grow as more swimming club parents, local leisure swimmers, triathletes and masters swimmers visit us and discover the level of expertise we are able to offer.
From the 15th September 2015 there has been a change in ownership. The business will continue to run the same, the new directors are Jo and Scot Ward.
Jo has been associated with swimming since a young age, she swam with Portsmouth Victoria and joined their synchronised swimming team. Jo helped in a family run learn to swim on hayling and taught the parents and toddlers for 10 years. Now involved in competitive swimming due to her youngest daughter Alaina Ward, who swims at a national level, which gives Jo an insight from a parents point of view.
Scot swam with Portsmouth Northsea at a young age at national level, and now teaches a squad at Havant and Waterlooville swimming club. Hilary McFarland has retired after 17 years of setting up and building up the business to what it is today. We all wish her a happy retirement.
Fitting service available in store - 
