"The Government was criticised by the Great Britain Diving Federation this weekend and thousands of demonstrators campaigned against pool closures as the row over swimming facilities intensified.

Up to 3,000 campaigners took to the streets in Fylde on Saturday in a mass protest to save two swimming pools, in Kirkham and in St Anne's, which are earmarked for closure.

At the same time, in Nottingham, a public meeting and demonstration took place with protesters desperate to save Victoria Baths, in St Ann's, which is classed as one of the most deprived areas of England according to Government statistics."

In a debate on Radio 4, [link] the department claimed that "there are 171 swimming pool complexes in England that have a diving pool that can offer people a good introduction to the sport".

However, this contrasts with Sutcliffe's written reply to a Parliamentary question on Oct 15, in which he states that Sport England's "Active Places database lists 64 diving pools which can be defined as diving pits using the following criteria - an indoor pool specifically for diving which is usually square in shape and deeper than the main pool".

John Whitby, former chief executive and active member of the GBDF, said yesterday: "How can 107 facilities have been missed by both Sport England and the GBDF and 'found' by the DCMS in the last four months? I cannot see how this can have occurred.

(Via Government criticised over diving board plunge - Olympics - Telegraph: .)

| Diving Boards | 3 March 2008; 12:58:32 PM |# | | Discuss |

A discussion about the parlous state of diving in London and the British Isles took place on You & Yours last week. You can download it HERE.

| Diving Boards | 3 March 2008; 12:36:58 PM |# | RealPlayerSession20080302193.mp3 7.6MB | Discuss |

More Councillors finding it impossible to disguise glee while quoting their consultant's findings. Local campaigners were quick to point out that scary things do appear in public buildings if they have consistently failed to receive adequate funding and regular planned-maintenance.

| London Borough of Lewisham | 3 March 2008; 12:30:07 PM |# | 15584516x9bb.mp4 15.9MB | Discuss |