Summer in Katowice and the Silesian metropolitan area: a family trip to the outdoor pool.

According to a survey commissioned by MultiSport, approximately 40% of Poles planning a summer holiday will spend between 7 and 10 days away from home. The situation is similar for families with children under the age of 18. How can the rest of the summer holidays be organised for the children?

Day camps, holiday care programmes, or stays with grandparents help fill some of the free time. At the same time, according to a MultiSport survey conducted during this year’s winter break, 88% of parents of school-age children believe that the school break should be filled with plenty of physical activity. Moreover, 87% of parents emphasise that they prefer to plan active leisure for the whole family during this period. An additional challenge during the school break, identified by 86% of parents, is maintaining a balance between their children’s physical activity and screen time.²

– Summer holidays, just like winter breaks, should be a time for a strategic reset of the nervous system. Excessive exposure to digital stimuli, particularly those from social media, can lead to problems with concentration, sleep, and emotional regulation. It is worth offering the child an alternative that provides natural dopamine. Outdoor physical activity, ideally shared with a parent, helps release tension and gives the child a sense of agency and the adult's undivided attention, which is something that no application, however excellent, can replace – comments Dr. Andrzej Silczuk, psychiatrist.

This is particularly important because only 16.8% of children and adolescents in Poland meet the World Health Organisation’s recommendations by engaging in at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily (Global Matrix 4.0 report).

One of the simplest forms of active leisure – undeniably associated with summer – is found in city swimming pools and outdoor bathing areas. They combine opportunities for physical activity, relaxation, and shared fun, while not requiring the planning of a multi-day trip. According to last year’s MultiSport survey, swimming – whether in natural bodies of water (31%) or in pools (22%) – is thus one of Poles’ favourite holiday activities.

– This is also confirmed by the choices made by the cardholders themselves: outdoor pools and water parks – alongside go-karts and cable cars – see a surge in interest from both younger and older MultiSport Programme users during the summer season – says Kinga Kołodziej, Customer Relations Director at Benefit Systems. – Surveys show that during the holiday season, Poles look for activities at attractive prices. Sports cards can prove to be an asset in this regard – she adds.

In the Silesian metropolitan area, the popular MultiSport cards are accepted at as many as 12 outdoor pools or year-round facilities, some of which feature open-air sections. These are the Bugla and Rolna recreation and leisure centres in Katowice, the Fala swimming complex in Chorzów, the Skałka sports and recreation centre in Świętochłowice, the Nowy Bytom sports and recreation centre in Ruda Śląska, and the Nemo Wodny Świat aqua park in Dąbrowa Górnicza. In Sosnowiec, there are two municipal sports and recreation centre’s outdoor swimming pools, Bytom has a sports and recreation centre’s outdoor pool, Knurów features the Zacisze forest swimming complex, Mikołów has the Planty recreation centre and Radzionków has the Księża Góra swimming complex.

Depending on the facility, visitors have access to recreational and lap pools, wading pools, water slides, and expansive green areas perfect for a picnic.

A weekend in the Czech Republic: the Silesian way to beat the heat

And if we have more time, we can check out the pool facilities on the Czech side of the border, just an hour’s drive from Katowice. The nearest Czech outdoor swimming pool available under the MultiSport Programme is SSRZ Letní koupaliště Jindřich in Havířov. Onsite facilities include a 50-metre swimming pool, an aquatic play area with three slides, wading pools for the youngest visitors, and a diving tower. The international offer can be used by adult MultiSport Programme users who have the application with verified identity. The rules regarding children’s entry are set out in the specific facility’s price list.

The Czech Republic is one of five foreign markets where the international MultiSport card acceptance scheme operates, enabling MultiSport Programme users to access sports and recreational facilities abroad under the same terms and conditions that apply in their home country.

^{1 MultiSport survey, Benefit Systems, Ariadna National Research Panel, CAWI method, April 2026, N=1090/18+.}

^{2 MultiSport survey, Benefit Systems, Ariadna National Research Panel, CAWI method, April 2026, N=600/Parents of school-age children.}

^{3 https://www.activehealthykids.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Poland-report-card-long-form-2022.pdf}

Barbara Jastrzębska

Senior PR Specialist, Benefit Systems

• barbara.jastrzebska@benefitsystems.pl
• 539677460

^{Benefit Systems has been operating on the Polish market for over two decades and is a leading provider of non-financial benefits that support employee wellbeing. The company created the MultiSport Programme, which enables physical activity at sports facilities across the country. Benefit Systems’ portfolio also includes the MyBenefit cafeteria platform and the Multi.Life wellbeing programme. For several years, the company has been expanding its sports-related offerings into international markets, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Croatia. The Benefit Systems Group also operates fitness clubs across six markets (in Poland, it manages such networks as Fabryka Formy, FitFabric, Fitness Academy, My Fitness Place, Total Fitness, and Zdrofit). Promoting an active lifestyle at every stage of life is a key area of ​​focus for Benefit Systems. Consequently, the company implements initiatives that encourage physical activity among children, adults, and seniors. These goals are pursued through efforts such as the MultiSport Foundation. Since 2018, Benefit Systems has been part of the global B Corp movement, a community of companies committed to addressing major social issues. More information at benefitsystems.pl/en and biuroprasowe.benefitsystems.pl/releases/English.}