"I don't think the industry has taken people's enthusiasm for swimming seriously," says Murdoch. "From the industry standpoint, clients buy a pool because it's for relaxation. It is a leisure product as opposed to a health and fitness product. There's no question that it's a leisure product, too, but for some segment of the market it is also a health and fitness product. And the industry has not capitalized on that niche group."

Davidson has a similar view: "There isn't much attention paid to functionality and swimability, it's more the other bells and whistles," he says. "The few of us niche people are trying to emphasize that, 'Wow, you have this great environment for exercise and health and fitness, why not do something with it?

Murdoch, who does extensive consumer marketing, says homeowners grasp the concept quickly. "They realize, 'Of course! Here I have a $60,000 pool and all I need to do is add this and now I can swim. I don't have to go to a club pool.' That becomes clear to them."

Renovation Up-Sell                                                                                                   
The available variety of current machines address just about any pool design and any pool owner's pocketbook. Many builders are finding that a swim current is a profitable upsell during a renovation or remodel. "We get quite a few retrofit projects," says Davidson. "Usually it's when people are doing something else, whether they're replastering or they're going to completely redo the pool."