London Pools Campaign: in the news

Colchester: More Swim Cash Needed

webteam — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:52:55 GMT

"Gillian Dovey, founder of First Strokes Swim Schools and Colchester businesswoman of the year, today welcomed the announcement, but said more could be done.

She explained: 'I think it's a very good idea, and I'm pleased the Government is trying to do something to meet this need.

'However, it is a very small part of what is needed.

'Schools haven't got the money to send children for swimming in the first place.

'Swimming in schools is mostly subsidised by parents and, with many leisure centres turning private, schools don't have the money to pay for lessons.'"

(Via Colchester More Swim Cash Needed (from Gazette): .)

TROUBLED SWIMMING POOL SET TO REOPEN

webteam — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:50:57 GMT

"A LAKE District swimming pool closed to the public following years of financial instability could reopen in 10 days' time.

Troutbeck Bridge Swimming Pool shut its doors last week after being placed in administration.

But the pool's trustees are positive about its future.

They say the new owners will provide a secure future for the community pool."

(Via barrow in furness, barrow news sport, ulverston news sport, lake district news: .)

Swimming club pledges funds to tile pool - Petersfield Today

webteam — Tue, 06 May 2008 02:19:39 GMT

Soon swimmers will have to turn up with their own water!

"PETERSFIELD Swimming Club has pledged £1,000 to the campaign to re-tile the open air pool.

Phil Mackenzie, swimming club organiser and pool trustee, presented a cheque to Viv Mays at the pool.

Mr Mackenzie said: "The history of the swimming club and pool are intertwined. The club was formed when the pool first opened, and its survival is directly linked with that of the pool itself. This is more that just a swimming pool – this is a great venue where children and adults alike can enjoy swimming, diving, and socialising, safely under the ever-watchful eyes of the dedicated staff; a fabulous open-air oasis.""

(Via Swimming club pledges funds - Petersfield Today: .)

Rich kids swim, poor kids sink

webteam — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 01:57:52 GMT

Yeah but that's Canada, thanks heavens there's nothing here like that!

"People are angry about Toronto's proposed school swimming-pool closings. Not just parents - all sorts of people. It's hit a nerve, and it's a gut reaction - as if the government were threatening to take away something from our children that's so essential it's considered a right, like food or air.

I myself learned to swim in Lake Superior at the age of 6, taught by my older brother, who wasn't telling the absolute truth when he said he wouldn't let go. Sink or swim was the lesson: You kick to stay afloat. So, lucky me: Unlike today's urban kids, I had a big, unpolluted lake to learn in.

But here's the drawback: I didn't learn to swim really well, because Lake Superior was so freezing cold you couldn't stay in for long without turning azure. And by the time I was old enough to know what a comparatively lousy swimmer I was, it was too late for me to shed my bad swimming habits. Swimming, like talking, is something kids learn best when they're young."

(Via globeandmail.com: Rich kids swim, poor kids sink: .)

Ilford Recorder - No one makes a splash about swimming

webteam — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 01:57:06 GMT

"THERE was a good attendance at the Ilford Leisure Centre Users' meeting on Tuesday, April 8. Recorder readers will not be surprised to hear of the expressions of anger and frustration resulting from the impending closure of the pools, although the exercise and dance rooms may survive.

No councillors were present to hear the blame heaped upon them. However, the neglect goes back at least 20 years, so it is unlikely that any party can be more effective than another in improving facilities.

This administration tried to use town centre regeneration money for a 50m pool, although the plan failed because of the unsuitability of the site. It has succeeded in renovating Fullwell Cross pool, which was also in a bad state, otherwise there would be no pool at all before long in this expanding borough.

Meanwhile, the plans made in the 1980s to build a 25m pool for the west of the borough have long been forgotten. I was expecting these to be revived rather than the proposal for a 50m pool, but assume that this was to take advantage of training needs for the Olympics as well as awareness of the increasing need to replace the Ilford pools."

(Via Ilford Recorder - No one makes a splash about swimming: .)

Swimming Pool Closes (from Bucks Free Press)

webteam — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 21:03:19 GMT

"A WYCOMBE swimming pool has been forced to close for the first few days of the school Easter holiday because of a split water pipe.

The main pool at Wycombe Sport Centre, Handy Cross, was shut on Friday after the main water pipe split.

It is expected the pool will remain closed for the first few days of this week.

Members of the public should contact Wycombe Sports Centre on 01494 688123 to check whether the pool is open before visitin"

(Via Swimming Pool Closes (from Bucks Free Press): .)

Sports funding wasted by town hall chiefs

webteam — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 08:19:28 GMT

"Sports centres and swimming pools that should be helping millions regain fitness have been left crumbling and neglected, a bleak watchdog report found yesterday. [LINK]

At a time of growing crisis over poor health and obesity among both children and adults, the standard of public sports facilities is poor and getting worse despite £1 billion a year budget, it said.

The scathing findings from the Audit Commission blamed incompetent and indifferent town hall bureaucrats and a reluctance to spend money on sport as chief reasons for delapidation and decline.

It warned that despite widespread enthusiasm over the 2012 Olympics, the number of new sports centres getting built is actually going down.
Lottery money to pay for new ones is drying up, it added.
More than two out of three pools and leisure complexes are more than two decades old, the investigation found."
But the Audit Commission said that public sector sports facilities were making 'slow and uncertain' progress; that few bureaucrats had bothered to work out what people needed and might want in the future; and that local council running of pools and sports centres was 'weak'. ...

The report was published in the wake of Labour's latest initiative to encourage children to take exercise, a £5.5 million scheme for swimming lessons for 11-year-olds who cannot manage 25 yards. Critics of the plan this week said it was hard to teach swimming to children who have no local pool. ...

Councils had made money from contracting out pools and leisure centres to be run by private companies but had failed to plough it back into new facilities.

(Via Sports funding wasted by town hall chiefs | the Daily Mail: .)

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT HERE

Swimming and the menopause

webteam — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 09:27:18 GMT

"Chloe Mount, St George's Hospital, London is a member of a group currently researching the effects that the menopause has on women who participate in masters swimming. An online survey has been up that takes approximately 10 minutes to fill out which they are using to find out how menopausal symptoms affect women's performance.
Please make members in your Club aware if you think they might be interested in filling out the questionnaire and put a link on any websites where you think it might be appropriate.
Click to take the survey."

(Via Latest News Swimming and the menopause: .)

Swedish court awards damages to Muslim women denied entry to swimming pool

webteam — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 09:25:37 GMT

"STOCKHOLM, Sweden – Two Muslim women blocked from a Goteborg swimming pool for refusing to change their clothing won more than $3,100 each in damages Tuesday. The Court of Appeal in Western Sweden, overruling an earlier lower court decision, ordered Goteborg to pay each woman 20,000 kronor and legal costs for discriminating against them.

The women – dressed in headscarves, sweatpants and long-sleeved T-shirts – accompanied their children to the public pool on two separate occasions in April 2004 but were asked to leave after refusing to change their clothes."

(Via SignOnSanDiego.com > News > World -- Swedish court awards damages to Muslim women denied entry to swimming pool: .)

flippin' obvious written about again!

webteam — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 21:05:21 GMT

"Leading an inactive life could speed up the ageing process.

A study published by researchers at King’s College London has shown that people who exercise more in their free time appear to be biologically younger than their more sedentary counterparts.

A team of researchers looked for evidence of ageing at a molecular level in the population by analysing telomeres, which cap the end of chromosomes in our cells and protect them from damage."

(Via Leisure Opportunities - daily jobs, news, training and property: .)

Big splash for world's largest swimming pool

webteam — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 17:13:29 GMT

"Take a deep breath before you try swimming a lap in the swimming pool at the San Alfonso del Mar resort in Chile.

At one-kilometre in length, the resort's tropical blue lagoon has received the nod from the Guinness World Records as the world's largest swimming pool.

The lagoon, cost an estimated $US1.5 billion ($1.74 billion) to build, covers an area of eight hectares and the 2.5 million litres of water needed to fill it is drawn from the Pacific Ocean.

The water in summer is kept at 26 degrees Celcius, around nine degrees warmer than the chilly Chilean ocean."

(Via Big splash for world's largest swimming pool | NEWS.com.au: .)

Airbus Says No to Swimming Pool at 35,000 Feet

webteam — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 17:16:47 GMT

"Apparently money can't buy everything, as news broke that Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's personal Airbus A380 'Flying Palace' will not feature an onboard swimming pool. An Airbus executive recently told jet trade publication Aviation International News, "You can forget about the swimming pool," and that doing a few laps at 35,000 feet "Can't happen and won't happen." Despite the plane's 5,930-square feet of cabin space, several thousand gallons of splashing water still amounts to a modern aviation conundrum"

(Via Airbus Says No to Swimming Pool at 35,000 Feet | Helium Report - Luxury 2.0 Guides and Reviews: .)

Swimming, adults v. young people?

webteam — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 19:13:35 GMT

We have run postings about how statistics show children are not being taught to swim, how difficult it is for children to go to a modern pool and swim, and how adults are taking all the pooltime at times that would be useful to young people by stealth or by 'right'; then we find this example of the attitude that may have created this situation.

"Swimming in London is shit. Sorry, but why the f**k would anyone want to swim in the piss left behind all those unwashed school-children?

I went swimming in Haringey once. It was supposed to be ‘women only’. Sure as shit, there were loads of school-kids. I asked the Stalinista behind the desk what the deal was and she told me, ‘It’s a woman’s right to bring her kids’.

For f**k’s sakes, it ruins the whole point."

(Via This Is Stoke Newington Swimming: .)

Is swimming the most diverse of all sports?

webteam — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 18:06:38 GMT

"Think about it. The sport of swimming encompasses a wealth of disciplines: elite pool swimming, synchro, water-polo, endurance and long distance, open-water, and of course winter swimming.

The extremes even involve specific and very different physique, training and adaptation. It's now acknowledged by most if not all experts, that swimming is the best all-round exercise one can undertake. It's also the most inclusive as anyone can swim irrespective of age, build or disability. In the case of open-water it's also the cheapest as all that's needed is a towel and cozzie. Swimming is by far the most popular participant sport with over 12 million participating annually.

What do y'all think?

Wildswimmer Pete"

(Via SwimClub.co.uk Forums Is swimming the most diverse of all sports?: .)

Surfers Paradise (from Thisisdorset)

webteam — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 18:05:30 GMT

Well it's water based and to use it you need to be able to swim.

"SURFERS and council chiefs have received an early Christmas gift with the announcement that Bournemouth's artificial reef has finally got the go-ahead.

Work is expected to start next spring and Europe's first artificial surf reef at Boscombe - one of only four worldwide - should be completed in time for the autumn swell.

After months of deliberating the Marine and Fisheries Agency yesterday granted a special environment licence to start construction of the long-awaited project.

There had been fears that the £1.4 million reef plans could be scuppered following objections from local fishermen.

MCA chief executive Nigel Gooding said: "A number of complex issues to ensure the protection of the marine environment had to be considered."

(Via Surfers Paradise (from Thisisdorset): .)

Muslim Swimming Costume For Women Goes Into Production

webteam — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 08:08:52 GMT

"A muslim company has produced a swimsuit alternative to the 'Burkini'
Mustaqim Ltd has launched a bathing suit that will suit not only Muslim women who want to swim while not exposing their bodies to the public, but indeed any woman who favours modesty, or who for health or other reasons may want to cover up while swimming.
The Mustaqim (pronounced Mustakeem) swimsuit was developed by Dr Sahib Mustaqim, who at first had wanted to import swimsuits manufactured by others, but found them impractical for swimming. Therefore an original study and experimentation was made to devise a swim suit that actually worked, while satisfying the modesty requirements of Islam."

(Via Muslim Swimming Costume For Women Goes Into Production: .)

Drowning in risk aversion

webteam — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 21:28:05 GMT

"James had been taking his children swimming for a while when one day he was stopped at the entrance of the Gorbals Leisure Centre in Glasgow. ‘I’m sorry, could I ask how old your children are?’ the attendant asked. It turned out that, like many council swimming pools across Scotland, the Gorbals Centre had introduced a new policy: each child aged four and under must be accompanied by an adult. This meant that for parents like James, who took turns with his wife to take their four-year-old son and two-year-old daughter swimming, the pool is out of bounds. The new rule was ‘in the interest of the safety of your children’, the attendant informed him."

(Via SPIKED Drowning in risk aversion | spiked: .)

SwimClub Wall of Shame - a call to arms

webteam — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 00:35:04 GMT

Wildswimmer Pete the 'roar from Runcorn' is gathering the clans. We recommend you get on to the forum and see what people are saying and put down your fears or even just a short Momento Mori for a much-loved and now lost pool.

"Local council turning your favourite pool into yet another carbuncular block of 'luxury flats'? Are you fed up of being treated like a serf? Want to tell your self-styled lords and masters what you think of them? Or just feel like a good old bitch about authority in general?

Please feel free to post any details of threats to pools, swimming bans in open water or any other bureaucratic threats to the UK's most popular participant sport.

Bear in mind that local authorities and Government departments cannot sue for defamation. Take care not to libel any named or otherwise identifiable individuals, and ensure as far as possible that you've got your facts straight. If in doubt, express your comment as an opinion. It's very difficult to claim defamation on the grounds of somebody's opinion - as long as it's made very clear the statement is just that: an opinion

You can çite any allegations made public elsewhere, as long as the source is given.

Legal disclaimer:

All comments posted on this thread are made under Article 10 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms:

'Article 10 - Freedom of Expression

Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.' [LINK]

So there!!

C'mon everyone, let's get those pens filled with bile :thumb:

Wildswimmer Pete"

(Via SwimClub.co.uk Forums SwimClub Wall of Shame: .)

Swimming charges u-turn - Woking News and Mail Online

webteam — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 06:22:57 GMT

"COUNCILLORS have made a dramatic U-turn on their proposals to cut free morning swimming for the elderly at Woking's pool and leisure facilities.

After receiving a petition with 329 signatures from swimmer Frances Naldrett and about 100 individual letters from other who use the Pool in the Park, the council backed down.

At a meeting of Woking Borough Council’s executive, Cllr Michael Smith proposed a £10 annual charge for the morning swimming rather than a means-tested fee."

(Via Swimming charges u-turn - Woking News and Mail Online: .)

Smaller than the old Knightstone Pool - (from The Weston Mercury)

webteam — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 21:48:50 GMT

Check out Tropicana Watch

"North Somerset Council has never shown an aptitude for selling off public property - it has more of a give away approach. As a building site the Tropicana must be worth £5million and, when linked with Knightstone, the two sites together must be among the most valuable sites in the South West. Yet, what does this public owned land fetch? Peanuts - a developer's delight.
The other thing North Somerset Council is not very good at is negotiating a lease.
Once signed, it suddenly starts leaking like a sieve, or the developer finds some extenuating circumstances to change the goal posts.

It would appear, that even after 12 months, Mr Boot could back out of the deal if the pool does not prove viable for its operator and, like a boomerang, it would come back as a cost to the council tax payer. If I was cynical, which of course I am not, I might suggest the pool has been designed to fail"
What was made very clear in the original submission to developers was the fact that Weston wanted a swimming pool equal in size to the existing Tropicana.
Until now the dimensions of this pool area have been kept secret - and we now know why.

(Via Weston Mercury The Weston Mercury - Smaller than the old Knightstone Pool: .)

shortlisted developers

A year wait to learn to swim

webteam — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 08:03:16 GMT

"HUNDREDS of young swimmers are being forced to wait up to a year for lessons at council owned leisure centres across North Somerset.

Frustrated parents are being told there is a waiting list of between six to 12 months for beginners swimming lessons at both the Parish Wharf Pool in Portishead and Strode Road Leisure Centre in Clevedon."

(Via The Weston Mercury - A year wait to learn to swim: .)

Leigh Indoor centre to open in January

webteam — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 08:03:05 GMT

"The Leigh Indoor Sports Centre will open to the public on 2 January 2008. The £6.4m centre, which will form part of the £83m Leigh Sports Village, has been funded by the Greenbank Partnership, Wigan Council and Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust.

The facility will be the home to a number of local clubs in a range of sports, including aerobics, basketball, dance, swimming, karate, badminton and gymnastics.

Andy Burnham, member of parliament for Leigh, said: “We will now have a sports centre and pool that can attract regionally important sports events and galas."

(Via LEISURE OPPORTUNITIES Leisure Opportunities: Leigh Indoor centre to open in January: .)

Looks like the adults have the lion's share of that 6-8 slot with club sessions starting at 7pm.

Artificial Beach With a Real Beach 300 Metres Away

webteam — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 18:32:05 GMT

As we hear it has recently closed we are still deciding whether this is to become a pool 'at risk'.

"The Seagaia Ocean Dome is the world's largest indoor water park, located in Miyazaki, Japan. The Ocean Dome, which is a part of the Sheraton Seagaia Resort, measures 300 metres in length and 100 metres in width, and is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Ocean Dome sports a fake flame-spitting volcano, artificial sand and the world's largest retractable roof, which provides a permanently blue sky even on a rainy day. Air temperature is always held around 30 degrees Celsius, the water around 28℃

"The Ocean Dome, the world’s largest indoor beach, Kyushu Island, Japan (about 1,500 kilometers south of Tokyo) — 300 meters in length and 100 meters in width, with a height of 38 meters, it can accommodate 10,000 people.

Designed by the Mitsubishi Heavy Industrial Group and opened in July 1993 at a cost of 200 billion yen ($2 billion), the Ocean Dome was never profitable and recently closed. [wikipedia link]"

Disabled veterans jeered at swimming pool

webteam — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 09:23:16 GMT

Similar stories came from the USA in the 1970s and 80s as Vietnam veterans used swimming pools, although we feel sure that the question of payment or subsidy of the cost of swimming was not çited as a cause then.

"The unpleasant scenes broke out at Leatherhead Leisure Centre in Surrey when the wounded veterans, who are at Headley Court Military Hospital, had to use the 25-metre public pool because the hydro-pool at the defence rehabilitation centre is not big enough for swimming.
The men, injured during tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, were taking part in a rehabilitation session at a leisure centre, when two women demanded they be removed from the pool. They claimed that the soldiers "hadn't paid" and might scare the children.

The servicemen were about to begin their weekly swimming therapy in closed-off lanes when they were verbally abused by the swimmers.

One woman in her 30s was said to be infuriated by the lane closures saying the soldiers did not deserve to be there when she had paid.

The atmosphere was said to be so tense that the soldiers' instructors removed them."

(Via Disabled veterans jeered at swimming pool - Telegraph: .)

Here is the Help for Heroes news item on their website.

The incident comes just weeks after a national appeal was launched to raise £5 million for Headley Court to build a new full-size rehabilitation pool with equipment in their gym. The armed forces rehabilitation centre, has raised more than £1m. [LINK]

Outdoor Pool for St Neots in 'two years'

webteam — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 23:05:28 GMT

The leisure centre in St Neots has a very small pool but this doesn't stop the local club St Neots Swans from holding one of the best junior meets around.

"St. Neots should have a new outdoor pool within two years, providing there are no delays in planning - this is the view of Councillors who form the Swimming Pool Trust.
The site of the old outdoor pool is soon to be sold and redeveloped as a St. Neots campus for Huntingdonshire Regional College. It was an Olympic sized pool and was closed in 2003; now there is hopes, apparently, for one to replace it, but not necessarily of the same size.
Cllr. Paul Ursell, Chairman of the Swimming Pool Trust has said that he knows how much residents want an outdoor pool and that the Council are committed to delivering it"

(Via poolingresources at Yahoo! Groups Outdoor Pool for St Neots in 'two years': .)

Harrow Council to invest £36m in leisure

webteam — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 09:24:08 GMT

Sounds like another "single 25 metre pool and puddle combo" to ensure programming woes for years to come.

"The London Borough of Harrow is to receive a £36m investment in leisure facilities, including a brand new leisure complex at Byron Park.
The leisure centre will replace the existing 40-year-old Harrow Leisure Centre, and draft plans include a six-lane swimming pool, a multi-purpose sports hall, a gym, a café and a piazza.
Local people and sports clubs will be involved from the start in making decisions about what facilities they want included at the centre."

(Via Leisure Opportunities: Harrow Council to invest £36m in leisure: .)

Women's fitness survey released

webteam — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 19:05:20 GMT

No mention in this report of the amount of males walking around the UK looking like they have recently swallowed a telly. It does have, as a London masters swimmer said this morning, a far more positive cover than the ASA draft strategy for London.

"The Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation (WSFF) has released a report titled It’s Time, which reveals that women’s fitness levels are deteriorating.

The research – sponsored by Scottish Widows – shows that more than 80 per cent of women are not doing enough exercise to benefit their health; women aged 16–24 year olds are half as active as men of the same age group and that low income and black and minority ethnic women take the least exercise.

The WSFF speculates that if these trends continue there will be one and a quarter million fewer women exercising by 2017, putting in jeopardy the government’s target of encouraging two million more people to be active by 2012.

Sue Tibballs, WSFF chief executive, said: “There has been almost no change in the level of women’s physical activity in the UK for the past 20 years and the forecasts show that the situation is getting worse."

(Via Leisure Opportunities News Women's fitness survey released: .)

Harlow says it does NOT have to provide the community with a swimming pool

webteam — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 01:47:17 GMT

They do not provide, they promote.

With minimal punctuation Harlow Council's Corporate Plan states:

“A Council that provides community leadership, and works in partnership with others, to promote and where appropriate provide:

“ We want Harlow to be clean, safe, sustainable and healthy town with good educational prospects for its citizens and a variety of homes and jobs to meet local needs, and a range of sporting leisure and cultural opportunities contributing to a higher quality of life”.
To be in the top quartile nationally for public satisfaction with sports and leisure facilities.
a higher quality of life through economic regeneration and the promotion of leisure, shopping and culture.”

and they say

Effective consultation and engagement is central to delivering the right services to local people. We have developed a Community Engagement and Communication Strategy, which provides an improved comprehensive framework for involving local people in service delivery and key local issues.
In late 2006 we established a citizens panel for Harlow. This provides a regular process through which the Council assesses local people views on decisions, issues and priorities.

Strange then that "Harlow Penguins swimming club coach Alan Mitchell asked how long his swimmers had been using "a dangerous pool" before the sudden evacuation on September 17." In the midst of an emerging obesity and health crisis with youth offending increasing the Council have, in practice, moved to the frame of mind that allows them to state "There is no obligation to provide the town with a pool".

Have they become the latest local authority who will no longer 'provide' community services and facilities but will instead 'promote' the facilities and activities of private leisure companies who, whether they work for 'profit' or its euphemism 'surplus', always have an eye for the bottom line as the outspoken correspondents to SWIM CLUB FORUMS feel.

The local paper reports. [LINK]

Harlow Pool shut nearly eight weeks ago and at a private meeting with pool users on Friday, council officers admitted that the building on First Avenue had outlived its life span.

A wet summer had worsened existing problems with a leaky roof and repairs could be too expensive and might take too long to justify.

A spokesman for the council said: "The pool is a discretionary service, this means that it is not a service we must legally provide and in many other areas the local council does not provide or directly run these services."

SWIM CLUB FORUM correspondents have heard this this 'last refuge' defence often elsewhere, it is also trotted out when a community asks why there are no public conveniences on the high street or in parks. There also seems to be no impetus to inform the community via the pool's webpage that the pool is shut - LOOK HERE . First reports on the "temporary closure" were made near the end of Sept 2007 [LINK] due to possible faults with the electrics and water systems.

(Via HARLOW HERALD The Harlow Herald - Bleak future for the pool: .)

Four-month-old babies attending gym classes

webteam — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:17:55 GMT

"Parents are taking babies as young as four months to special gyms amid growing fears about childhood obesity. A US chain has signed up hundreds of babies and toddlers for 'developmental gymnastics'"

(Via the Mail online | Health Four-month-old babies attending gym classes: .)

Flickr: Discussing Abandoned swimming pools (... as you do)

webteam — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 08:20:12 GMT

Flickr pictures bring a world of abandoned pools to your desktop.

"I have an interest in photographing old swimming pools but unfortunately never get to see any. I never get to see any though. I would love to see some of the pools other people have photographed. I love these Chernobyl pics."

(Via Flickr: Abandoned swimming pools in Abandoned: .)

Synchronised Swimming retained in 2010 Commonwealth Games

webteam — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 05:19:31 GMT

Blimey, building a special swimming pool just so that you can host a competitive event that you said you would host - whatever next?

" Synchronised swimming has kept its place at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi after the Commonwealth Games Federation recommended the discipline be retained.

The CGF’s executive board recommendation followed an 18-month review to the games sports programme where race walking also looked threatened.

Delhi, host of the 2010 games, had asked to remove the sports from its programme, citing logistical difficulties, including the need to build a new pool especially for synchronised swimming.

The compromise involves staging synchronised swimming in the diving pool, following a dispensation by the sport’s world governing body FINA. "

(Via Latest News Synchronised Swimming retained in 2010 Commonwealth Games: .)

Swedish Feminists Launch Campaign For The Rights To Bear Breasts At Pools

webteam — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 00:03:27 GMT

Massive support expected as Sweden discovers key to participation woes. We believe this campaign springs from a long-running campaign by men from Dagenham in the building trade who have worked tirelessly to bare their buttocks and desexualise them, succesfully.

"'They're 'just breasts'! This is the rallying cry of a network of women who have launched a campaign for the right to bathe topless at Sweden's swimming pools.'
Outraged by what they regarded as discrimination, a group of women in southern Sweden made a show of solidarity by establishing the Bara Bröst network. (The name translates both as 'Bare Breasts' and 'Just Breasts'.)

"We want our breasts to be as 'normal' and desexualized as men's, so that we too can pull off our shirts at football matches," spokeswomen Astrid Hellroth och Liv Ambjörnsson told Ottar, a magazine published by the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education.

In a preliminary action in the middle of last month, seven members of the Bara Bröst network hopped into a pool in Malmö wearing only bikini bottoms. Before long, they were whistled to the side and asked to leave."

(Via digg Swedish Feminists Launch Campaign For The Rights To Bear Breasts At Pools: .)

Swedish Blog on the topic

Cumbrian pool has its regeneration plans expanded

webteam — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 18:07:34 GMT

A lottery-funded pool in Cumbria designed by the architect of the troubled Clissold Leisure Centre in Hackney is still struggling to find a purpose. In common with several modern pools their new building has alleged design faults but in stark contrast to the rest of the British Isles the residents of Grange-over-Sands have a pool that lacks the swimmers required to 'worry' its water.

"More land is to be made available to developers at the site of a troubled community swimming pool.

Berners Pool in Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, closed in July 2006 with debts of £200,000, three years after opening.

This August, two potential rescue bids to take over the £3.5m pool were deemed unsuitable by South Lakeland Council.

Now the authority, which wants to regenerate the area, will offer a wider expanse of land as a site for leisure facilities, homes and businesses."

(Via BBC NEWS | England | Cumbria | Pool regeneration plans expanded: .)

Anger as leading supermarkets sell lager for 22p a can

webteam — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 18:03:03 GMT

This puts supermarket support for schools, sport, communities and health by issuing vouchers at the cash register and any ideas we may have of the whole nation 'pulling together' into some sort of perspective. By the time you have paid for a swim, lost 20p in a locker door and bought a hot chocolate on the way out you have probably spent at least £3, or you could stay in and get blootered for half that.

Perhaps, as it is now cheaper than water, if the local pool was filled with lager we could raise participation and increase retention in swimming at a stroke.

"Supermarkets are selling beer at a cheaper price than water, fuelling concern over their role in Britain's binge-drinking crisis. Despite repeated public health warnings,
Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda now offer lager at just 22p a can"

(Via the Mail online | Home Drunk for £1: Anger as leading supermarkets sell lager for 22p a can: .)

Keep-fit boom fails to stem obesity

webteam — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 09:02:46 GMT

The University of Leicester has been looking at why we all walk around in leisure-wear nowadays. Is it because we are so sporty or because we now need an elasticated waistband [LINK].

"The booming fitness industry has done little to curb the obesity epidemic, according to leading academic researchers.

While gyms and private health clubs have grown in popularity in recent years, the nation's weight has grown too.

The reason for the paradox, they said, is that such clubs tend to attract wealthier people, leaving the less well-off struggling to find ways to combat weight problems." ...

"At the top end of the market, high income earners can afford excellent services and an enlightened approach to fitness, but at the bottom end of the market, middle and lower income earners can afford fewer and lower quality services and a factory approach to fitness. ...

But she argued that inactivity and obesity are problems for society as a whole and they require collective solutions.

"Physical exercise can be reintroduced as an integral part of everyday life, rather than yet another activity to be squeezed into an already shrinking supply of free time."

(Via University of Leicester Keep-fit boom fails to stem obesity | Press Office: .)

People power saves leisure centre, (or, 'what people have to do to get a swim where they live')

webteam — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 16:46:40 GMT

If you are a regular visitor to this website you may wonder some days if we sit here making this stuff up. There are days when we know for sure that there is no way this could ever be true, this is one of them.

"NORTH Wiltshire council chiefs will hand over the keys to Calne Leisure Centre on Tuesday to the group that will be operating the centre when it reopens in January.

CLAG, the Calne Leisure Action Group will operate the former White Horse Leisure Centre in Calne and is planning to open to the public in early January 2008.

The group includes (unpaid, Ed) local residents and business professionals who believe that it is possible to run the centre for the residents of Calne and the surrounding area as a 'not-for-profit' organisation. (we thought that is what councils already do, Ed)

Handing over of the keys to the centre marks an important milestone for the group as they work in partnership with North Wiltshire District Council to once again provide a local leisure facility in Calne.

Plans are afoot to carry out refurbishment work at the centre before an official opening on Friday January 4.

It is planned that the centre would open to the public again on January 7.

Kevin Wells, the chairman of Calne Leisure Action Group, Kevin Wells, said: 'We are obviously very happy that all the hard work means we are now able to accept the keys to the centre. There is still a lot more to do and the next phase, the refurbishment, can now begin in earnest.'

He added: 'We still need the help of local tradesmen and the general public to carry out the 321 identified tasks that need to be completed before January 4.'"

(Via Leisure Centre Enters New Era (from Wiltshire Times): .)

Children 'becoming fat, fearful and afraid' - Telegraph

webteam — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 17:21:05 GMT

Worryingly we suspect the familiar prescription of residential or supervised outward bound, raft-building and rope games for those that can afford it. Alternatively parents can opt out completely and school and the exchequer can exercise their kids while they continue drink at home. Take a look at the latest adverts for BT broadband for how young people are being to induced to remain seated in front of a monitor consuming fizzy drinks and pop, and parents told that television and internet connectivity is childcare .

"A major report, to be published this week, will warn that this 'cotton wool' culture is breeding a generation of cossetted youngsters who are fearful of challenges, suspicious of adults and lacking in confidence.

'Risk and Childhood', published by the Royal Society for the Arts, will highlight the escalation in regulation from a Government that is attempting to micro-manage every aspect of daily life. About 33 Acts of Parliament and more than 1,000 new regulations to reduce risk were passed in 2006 alone.

Added to this is the breakdown of communities and a lack of neighbourliness that creates a climate of unease, forcing parents to keep their children inside. As a result, the report argues, youngsters are robbed of the freedom to develop, to manage and take risks - and, ultimately, to grow up."

(Via Children 'becoming fat, fearful and afraid' - Telegraph: .)

New centre for Leeds

webteam — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 16:02:15 GMT

Initially subject to critcism because of its location at the edge of town [LINK] Leeds's new Leisure centre is set to open to the public - and it has diving boards.

"Olympic diving hopefuls took the plunge at Leeds's new £16m Aquatic Centre, six days before it opens to the public.

Intrepid youngsters, the elite of the City of Leeds team, plunged from the 10m board into the pool.

"Some of these divers are prospects for both the Beijing and London Olympics," said Ian Waller, sports operations manager for the city.

The new aquatic centre at the John Charles Centre for Sport in south Leeds was visited for the first time by leisure supremo Coun John Procter.

He said: "I am thinking of bring my little boy and girl because the children's changing facilities are fantastic. Often this is a problem with pools – where do you put youngsters while you change? "

(Via : .)

Donkey rescued from swimming pool

webteam — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 16:42:25 GMT

"Fire crews in Cornwall were called to help after a donkey became trapped in a swimming pool on Thursday night.

The four fire crews were called to Bealbury near Callington where they first pumped out 3ft of rainwater which had collected in the empty pool.

They then used straw bales to make steps for the donkey to climb out."

(Via BBC NEWS | England | Cornwall | Donkey rescued from swimming pool: .)

I swam to Bestival - Times Online

webteam — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 02:53:25 GMT

"She ditched the boat, grabbed a wetsuit and arrived on the Isle of Wight ready to party. How a gruelling swim can take the festival experience to another level"

(Via I swam to Bestival - Times Online: .)

Leisure companies Business-Association wants more Government money

webteam — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:10:09 GMT

"Business In Sport and Leisure (BISL), the umbrella organisation for the sport, leisure and hospitality industry, is calling for more government funding for leisure-related Private Finance Initiative (PFI) schemes.
The organisation made the appeal in a paper released earlier this week called Activating the Market – The Contribution of Leisure PFI and PPP [Public-Private Partnerships] to Driving and Sustaining an Increase in Participation."

(Via Leisure Opportunities: BISL calls for PFI funding: .)

Cost cutting is 'making police fat and unfit' - Telegraph

webteam — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 05:02:55 GMT

Blimey that's so unfair - and we feel terrible too because we thought it was all the Krispy Kreme doughnuts that made them chubbs, we bet those heartless takeaways deliver too.

"Police officers are putting on weight because station gyms are being closed by chief constables who fear being sued over injuries on exercise machines, according to official research.

A new report into police sickness also found Pcs are being forced to eat takeaways, further damaging their health and fitness, as staff canteens are shut down to cut costs.

Jan Berry, the chairman of the Police Federation, said: 'Chief officers should be assisting police officers to keep fit, particularly when working 24/7 shifts means it's nigh on impossible to make full use of a gym outside. For many, the gym at the station is the only opportunity they have to work out.'"

(Via Cost cutting is 'making police fat and unfit' - Telegraph: .)

Kenny 'Boyd' by swimming success

webteam — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 17:30:53 GMT

Well done Kenny. In London it seems to be becoming commonplace to see men swimming in heated pools in wet suits, £200+ a throw and they don't even bring a drink bottle.

"Belfast man, Kenny Boyd, has become the first person in over 40 years to swim from Rathlin Island to Ballycastle, County Antrim, without a wetsuit.

He completed the six-mile endurance test on Wednesday in just under four hours - and raised over £5,000 for the charity Concern. "

(Via BBC NEWS | Northern Ireland | Kenny 'Boyd' by swimming success: .)

New pool for Hadleigh voted down (but it's ok because there will be a survey)

webteam — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 08:09:21 GMT

Like a line from 'Yes Minister' or 'The thick of it' instead of a new pool officers will commission a survey! YOU CAN'T SWIM IN A SURVEY CHAPS. There are very good reasons why surveys should be carried out but here at LPC Towers we do get a bit tired of publicising yet another one.

Babergh council has embarked on the exercise with an open mind entitling the webpage about it, "HADLEIGH POOL REPORT: NEW POOL FAR TOO EXPENSIVE - TOUGH DECISIONS NOW NEED TO BE MADE"

"Babergh Council have voted against trying to build a new pool in Hadleigh, Suffolk to replace the current one; instead money will be used to fund a survey of the Hadleigh pool and review plans after that; Babergh is just one of many Councils across the country saying that it cannot afford the cost of major refurbishment or replacement when a pool gets near the end of its serviceable life.
Here in Ipswich the provision of public water space (swimming pools) is actually worse in terms of both quality and quantity than it was 20 years ago: Broomhill Pool has been allowed to lie derelict for over five years, (because Ipswich Borough Council, almost certainly, had it earmarked for housing); the Crown Pools complex has been earmarked for demolition once a replacement can be found and Fore St Baths - approx 100 years old - is mainly used by clubs (of course, Ed).
It will come as a surprise to no-one that one of the Workshops tabled for the Everyday Swim Conference is entitled 'Getting Suffolk Swimming'!!! Yes, folks - don't let the absence of a pool put you off!"
[LINK]

(Via poolingresources : Message: New pool for Hadleigh voted down: .)

British would ‘rather die’ than do exercise

webteam — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 16:34:45 GMT

Why are we bothering?

"Most UK adults are not prepared to increase the amount of physical exercise they undertake – even if their lives depended on it.

According to research by YouGov, on behalf of the British Heart Foundation (BHF), only 38 per cent of Brits would be motivated to do more exercise even if a failure to do so would lead to an earlier death."

(Via Leisure Opportunities: Brits would ‘rather die’ than do exercise: .)

Virtual gym opens in Nottingham

webteam — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 16:11:27 GMT

well it's imaginative but good-grief!

"Nottingham City Council has launched a new virtual gym in an effort to tackle childhood obesity.
Called Swat Rock, the new interactive facility at Clifton Leisure Centre enables children to play computer games while keeping fit.</p?
Swat Rock will include a multi player dance system with eight dance mats; four ‘exer-stations’, with users playing computer games with a controller that works based on body movements, rather than just thumbs; two sports walls offering hundreds of game combinations."

(Via Leisure Opportunities: Virtual gym opens in Nottingham: .)

Boy, 8, drowns in swimming pool

webteam — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 05:24:48 GMT

"An eight-year-old boy has drowned in a swimming pool at a leisure centre in Dundee, it has emerged.

The boy, who has not been named, was with a relative at the Olympia Leisure Centre in Earl Grey Place on Saturday.

He was reported missing to police at about 1800 BST and was later found at the bottom of the swimming pool.

He was taken to Ninewells Hospital but he was pronounced dead a short time later. Tayside Police have launched an investigation into the incident.

Officers said that the boy's name would not be released until his next of kin had been notified. "

(Via BBC NEWS | Scotland | Tayside and Central | Boy, 8, drowns in swimming pool: .)

Outrage as president snapped in swimming trunks - Speedos might offend!

webteam — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 19:07:41 GMT

"A photograph of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in tight swimming trunks triggered outrage in the parliament of the former Soviet state on Wednesday.

'For me, he (Nazarbayev) is a God-appointed person,' said Bekbolat Tleukhan, member of the pro-Nazarbayev Nur-Otan party that controls every seat in the lower house.

'This is not just impolite, it's pure shame. ... It goes against all our traditions.'

In the paparazzi-style shot, published by the Freedom of Speech newspaper this month, the 67-year-old president is walking on a beach, looking tanned and smiling."

(Via Scotsman.com News - Latest News - Outrage as president snapped in swimming trunks: .)

The answer to healthy eating? on a plate

webteam — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 17:37:09 GMT

"The Food Standards Agency has launched the 'eatwell plate', a visual tool that illustrates the types and proportions of foods that make up a balanced diet. It updates the previous illustrative model, the 'Balance of Good Health'."

(Via Food Standards Agency News The answer to healthy eating ? on a plate: .)

Sarkozy appoints synchronised swimmer

webteam — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 16:19:25 GMT

What's wrong with the French don't they know that you need fat blokes who don't do anything being responsible for sport!Christine Lagarde, a top lawyer and a former champion synchronised swimmer, was yesterday appointed France's first woman economy minister. She was one of several women appointed by Nicolas Sarkozy in a rethink of his cabinet and junior ministerial roles. In an attempt to confound Socialists and disprove critics who say he is divisive, the new rightwing president invited more figures from the left to join his team.
One surprise addition to the Sarkozy team was the French national rugby coach Bernard Laporte, who will become secretary of state for sport after September's Rugby World Cup.