London Pools Campaign News

Banking on Boris to bring Olympic sanity - Yorkshire Post

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"THERE are few things which attract less interest hereabouts than the politics of London in general and the doings of the mayor of the city in particular but the election of Boris Johnson to succeed Ken Livingstone may yet prove a turning point in the build-up to the biggest sporting event our capital has ever seen. Livingstone knew and cared as much about sport as most of us do about the works of Karl Marx but he was an astute enough politician to become engaged in the Olympic process simply because he knew he could use some of the money being invested to help him improve the living standards of those in the east of his constituency who would reward him with their support."

(Via Bill Bridge: Banking on Boris to bring Olympic sanity - Yorkshire Post: .)

TROUBLED SWIMMING POOL SET TO REOPEN

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"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

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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: .)

70th ANNIVERSARY BROOMHILL POOL 1938-2008

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Broomhill Pool, Ipswich opened on April 30th 1938 and closed in the autumn of 2002; a continuous campaign has been fought to see the pool restored and re-opened and the Broomhill Pool Trust have recently submitted a bid for Heritage Lottery Funding. Please come to the:-

OPEN DAY SATURDAY 26TH APRIL

TIME: 10AM - 5PM

ENTRANCE: FREE (but donations welcomed!)

LOCATION: BROOMHILL POOL (entrance to the pool is via Sherrington Road, off Norwich Rd)

EXHIBITION of the lido's history and hopeful future

In the evening there is a barbecue and party at the Emperor Pub in Norwich Road.

See Events Section of www.savebroomhillpool.org for further details. NB The lido is not open for swimming!

Rich kids swim, poor kids sink

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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: .)

'Non-Muslim' father banned from London pool - Telegraph

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"A father has described his anger after he and his son were refused entry to their local swimming pool because they weren't Muslims.

David Toube and Harry, five, were turned away by staff from the men-only session.

The council has now admitted that workers at Clissold Leisure Centre in Hackney, north London, made a mistake and offered the family an apology.

Mr Toube, 39, a lawyer, said they visited the baths at 9am on Sunday.

'I arrived at the pool to discover that they were holding what staff described to me as 'Muslim men-only swimming",' he said."

(Via 'Non-Muslim' father banned from London pool - Telegraph: .)

Ilford Recorder - No one makes a splash about swimming

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"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: .)

Celebrations as Burnham swimming pool is saved from closure

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"Champagne bottles were cracked open in Burnham on Tuesday evening (April 8th) as delighted councillors led the celebrations to mark the unveiling of new bosses to run the town's swimming pool."

(Via Celebrations as Burnham swimming pool is saved from closure: .)

Swimming Pool Closes (from Bucks Free Press)

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"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): .)

Relocation May Close Swimming Club (from News Shopper)

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"PARENTS and coaches have warned that council plans to relocate a swimming club may force it to close.

Under the Greenwich Council plans, Eltham Stingrays club will need to move to Thamesmere Leisure Centre, Thamesmere Drive, Thamesmead, in September.

The 130-member club, which has had its pool time cut since the opening of the new Eltham Centre, Archery Road, met with councillors this week to discuss the plans.

Councillors says the shake-up is aimed at strengthening support for top-level competitive swimmers in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics.

The council says it wants to provide better use of pool time for competitive swimmers to train more frequently, greater opportunities for learners and pooling of coaches across the borough"

(Via Relocation May Close Swimming Club (from News Shopper): .)

New talks to save swimming baths - Blackpool Today

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"CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save St Annes pool have been given a glimmer of hope following crunch talks on the future of swimming in Fylde.

The future of the facility is back in the balance after discussions held behind closed doors at Lytham's Lowther Pavilion.

Fylde Council has agreed to work with the YMCA, which already has sports facilities in Lytham and St Annes, to ensure the pool remains open until its July 31 closing date."

(Via New talks to save swimming baths - Blackpool Today: .)

Mark Foster's Beijing Olympics dream- Telegraph

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"'The Government is doing its best to promote healthy living - that's what the smoking ban is about. They know they need to crack down on obesity, but if you are closing swimming pools, how does that help you to promote good health? What's more, if you close pools, you will ultimately diminish our performance in the sport.'

Foster worries that swimming is no longer an option in this country for millions of potentially talented children whose local pool may have been closed. 'If a teenaged Mark Foster was coming along today it would be a lot more difficult than it was when I was young,' he said.

'I think the sport in general is becoming a lot more middle-class. Your parents have to have a car to drive you to the nearest pool or you are stuffed, and that can't be right.'"

(Via Mark Foster's Beijing Olympics dream - Telegraph: .)

Government include closed pools in their data- Telegraph

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"The Government face further embarrassment today over the figures they claim for swimming pool and diving provision in the country.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal that almost 40 per cent of Sport England's database of 171 diving facilities listed on the Active Places website are inaccessible to the public, with almost one third of them belonging to public schools.

Of the 171 on the list, 51 diving facilities belong to independent fee-paying schools, six have 'closed' written beside them, five others are known to the Great Britain Diving Federation to have closed, while six are on military bases."

(Via Government include closed pools in their data - Telegraph: .)

Derby City Council involved in court case- Olympics - Telegraph

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"Campaign groups across the country are taking local governments to task over their 'willful disregard' of many of the nation's swimming pools. But one group is relying on more than petitions and protests to keep their pool open: it has taken their city council to court.

In December last year, supporters of the swimming pool at Gayton Primary School, Derbyshire, took Derby City Council to Birmingham High Court over the pool's closure and are now waiting anxiously for the judge to deliver his verdict on whether the pool must stay shut. As yet there has been no date set for the ruling.

Derby City Council is accused of failing to comply with a covenant in their lease agreement for the buildings that house the pool and its changing rooms, which stipulates that the council is responsible for maintenance."

(Via Derby City Council involved in court case - Olympics - Telegraph: .)

Government criticised over diving board plunge- Olympics - Telegraph

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"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 discussed on You and Yours

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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.

Forest Hill Pools makes 6 o'clock news

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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.

Pupils fight to stop swimming pool closures- Olympics - Telegraph

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"Schoolchildren in Fylde and Nottingham will take part in protest marches tomorrow to register their disgust that their local pools are to be closed. They will raise their voices to save Kirkham and St Anne's in Fylde, and Victoria Baths in Nottingham.

Swimming is Britain's most popular sporting activity. Twenty-two per cent of adults and half of all schoolchildren regularly go to pools. Yet the decline of swimming facilities mirrors an explosion in childhood obesity."

(Via Pupils fight to stop swimming pool closures - Olympics - Telegraph: .)

Goodbye, London's Oldest Pool

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"Lewisham is a bit harsh, innit? Wot wiv all the crime an’ all.
Well.
That's true.

But there is also another side to Lewisham; one in which Victorian buildings co-exist with shiny regenerated areas, and where farmers’ markets and leisure centres are available for all to use.

Now Lewisham Council has decided to refurbish the oldest pool in London, Forest Hill Pools, which were built in the 1880s. The Pools were suddenly closed in 2006 due to safety fears. Regrettably, however, the regeneration involves demolishing the old Victorian building completely, and rebuilding new pools. While it is understandable that safety is of the utmost importance, it seems such a shame to tear down the existing building. It would be lovely if at least the façade could be kept, as has been and is being done with several other buildings Unfortunately it has been decided that retaining the front of the building is too expensive and, most importantly, would take much longer than tearing the building down and starting anew. All in all, however, it seems that both users and Council are in agreement that a brand spanking new pool complex is an exciting prospect for Lewisham Council and Forest Hill in particular.

London Pools Campaign which, well, campaigns for London pools, has a documentary about Forest Hill Pools up on their website, which you can access here.

And do try to come down to Lewisham once in a while. It’s really not that bad.

Image courtesy of Laura S Goodman

(Via Londonist Goodbye, London's Oldest Pool: .)

Forest Hill Swimming Pools - a short documentary

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"

Two years ago, as Forest Hill Pools was struggling for survival, the Friends of Forest Hill Pools produced this short documentary, a well crafted and very interesting document on local history as well as history of swimming pools in London.

Directed by James E. Melloy and presented by Steve Grindlay it documents the oldest working swimming pool in London.

The pools closed shortly after this documentary was made and as we upload it on the net we are at the eve of the Mayor of Lewiswham approving of its demolition and replacement with a modern one on the same site.
"

(Via save Ladywell Pool Forest Hill Swimming Pools - a short documentary: .)

2012 chiefs splashing out £40m on pool consultants

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Smug consultants zip around the country rubber-stamping 25m and puddle solutions for councils. They are happy filling in deep-ends, creating pools with a hydraulic floors at one end and a shallow end at the other (!?). They looking upon local campaigners with undisguised scorn yet earning a pretty good living with no comeback or consequences. If true the fiasco in Stratford is the Klondike of all 'covered holes in the ground full of water' consultancies.

"Consultants' fees for the project to build the Olympic aquatics centre could hit £40million, it has emerged.

The cost of employing outside engineers, architects and surveyors has mounted following changes to the venue's complex design.

Olympic chiefs are demanding venues for the 2012 Games are 'green'. This has proved a challenge for the aquatics centre because such pools are noted for high heating bills.

Rising professional fees are thought to be one of the main factors contributing to the centre's budget, which has tripled to £214million, as revealed by the Evening Standard last week."

(Via 2012 chiefs splashing out £40m on pool consultants | Evening Standard: .)

Loughton Swimmers to lose pool place

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"
http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/new..._pool_time.php

The Loughton Swimmers club which has served the community for over 40 years has been informed by SLM (Sport and Leisure Management) that their Monday evening slot will no longer be available to them, from March onwards.

The club has 185 members and has always kept its prices low, but the Chairman of the club feels that this may be why they have been asked to leave.

The manager of Loughton Leisure Centre claims that the needs of the community are not being met if clubs are operating four days a week there, but this is strongly disputed by club members who say that parents will be dismayed to find that the club is no longer in operation.
"

(Via SwimClub.co.uk Forums Loughton Swimmers to lose pool place: .)

Forest Hill Pool - an SE23 discussion thread

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Pool & puddle solution again

"Many of you will be aware of the Mayors decision in February 2007 to refurbish Forest Hill Pools subject to further feasibility work. This work has now been undertaken and a report on the outcomes will be discussed at the Mayor and Cabinet meeting next Wednesday 13 February at 6pm at the Town Hall. For the details of the report see: Here

The pools are badly cracked and leaking so that there are inherent risks and difficulties with the refurbishment. The officers are recommending demolition and clearance of the site including Louise House and engaging with representatives of the local community as well as users of the pool to develop the design and feasibility work.

We have funding for a new 25m pool, a learner pool, fitness suite and community facilities. We plan to cross subsidise the cost with new housing on the pocket park next to the pool and replacing the park with extensive landscaping from the library across the new frontage. This new building will be complementary in architectural style to the library.

As well as being a Sydenham Councillor I am the Cabinet Member for Community Services that includes leisure facilities and I would be pleased to hear your views on a new leisure facility." Cllr Chris Best

(Via Forest Hill Pool: .)

Mayor makes a U-turn on Forest Hill Pool

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"When two years, following a lengthy and extensive consultation, Mayor Bullock had said that Forest Hill Pools would have been refurbished, many in Lewisham celebrated, some cynics thought 'I believe it when I see it'.
Fast forward two years and the Mayor decides that the Victorian complex of Forest Hill Pools will be demolished to make way for a new pool. Further analysis done by the consultants for Lewisham Council show that the refurbishment would be too risky. Two years ago this was not clear to them.
Together with the pools the adjacent Louise House will also be redeveloped. Receipts from the sale of the land for housing will offset the cost of the new pool.These are two historical buildings standing next to the listed library and many in Forest Hill will surely oppose this decision. The fact that the proposed replacement is a more limited provision than the current Victorian Pool is another reason for discontent."

(Via save Ladywell Pool Mayor makes a U-turn on Forest Hill Pool: .)

'Swimming bid' for unborn babies

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planning ahead - great!

"Unborn babies are believed to have been added to a waiting list for heavily subscribed swimming lessons by pregnant women in Aberdeenshire. The unusual move was thought to have been made in a bid to ensure their children could get a place in busy classes."

(Via BBC NEWS | Scotland | North East/N Isles | 'Swimming bid' for unborn babies: .)

Sports funding wasted by town hall chiefs

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"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

where are all the coaches that will take us to the sunlit uplands?

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"The London 2012 Olympic legacy is under threat due to a coaching shortage, according to a new report.

The report, released by Sportnation – an independent sports think-tank – based on research carried out by Loughborough University, said that even on conservative estimates, the UK could face a shortfall of up to a quarter of a million full-time and part-time paid professional sports coaches.

The study, called Are we missing the coach for 2012?, found that 69 per cent of the 1.2 to 1.5 million sports coaches in the UK are unpaid volunteers and that in performance athletics, there are as few as 12 full-time salaried coaches in the UK.

It calls for between 160,000 and 233,500 additional paid, professional coaching positions by 2016, which is more ambitious than the proposed 42,000 new positions to be created in the same period under Sportscoach UK’s UK Coaching Framework.

Steve Cram, chair of the Sportnation – which is supported by the Lucozade Sports Science Academy --– and former world champion athlete, said: ‘The report highlights that unless we can break the culture of ‘gentleman amateurism’ in UK sport, we will struggle to become best in the world.

‘As long as we continue to rely on an army of grass-roots volunteers, with no clear career progression for home grown coaches, we will tend to look to superannuated foreign coaches to fill the top jobs in UK sport. If we don’t act now to stem the endemic culture of volunteerism in UK sport, we may have already missed the coach for sporting success at London 2012.’ Details: www.thelssa.co.uk/lssa/sportnation/ "

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

Olympic Games 2012: Pay | Olympics | Written Answers

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"The following table shows the 2007-08 salaries of the 10 highest paid staff working directly on the preparations for the 2012 Olympics in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and paid from the public purse. It does not include staff employed by the ODA's Delivery Partner, and the ODA's contractors.
Position/organisation ^{( 1)} Salary (£)
Chief Executive, ODA 372,600
Director of Construction, ODA 258,750
Director of Finance and Corporate Services, ODA 253,624
Director General, Government Olympic Executive 220,000
Director of Design and Regeneration, ODA 207,000
Director of Transport, ODA 207,000
Director of Property, ODA 207,000
Director of Infrastructure and Utilities, ODA 207,000
Director of Build and Finance, Government Olympic Executive 180,000
Director of Communications, ODA 175,950
⁽¹⁾ The figures are for basic salary only, and do not include for any performance related bonuses, taxable benefits and pension contributions. These additional benefits will be calculated at the financial year-end and detailed in the annual reports and accounts of the Department and the ODA which are laid before the House."

(Via Tessa Jowell's Recent Appearances (TheyWorkForYou.com) Olympic Games 2012: Pay | Olympics | Written Answers: .)

"London Olympic chiefs defended the salaries of their top executives yesterday after it emerged some were earning up to £100,000 more than first thought."

(Via Telegraph Sport Olympic Delivery Authority defend pay: .)

Swimming and the menopause

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"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

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"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: .)

Pensioners to lose free entry to leisure centres

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Did we mention that the cost of the Olympic Aquatic Centre had quadrupled while its size had halved. Has anyone forgotten that increasing numbers of councils are paying companies to run the leisure centres that Londoners built and paid for and continue to maintain. Within these they can run highly profitable / surplus-creating (delete where applicable) businesses and we the owners and voters have no idea what the business arrangement is - how much is recouped if the centre, state of the art new construction, is a runaway success.

Recently we drew readers attention to these statistics on free swimming around the country.

"PENSIONERS in Haringey will no longer have free entry to borough leisure centres and disabled people will have to pay more in a council overhaul of pricing."

(Via Hornsey Journal Pensioners to lose free entry to leisure centres: .)

Olympic pool costs set to triple

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"The London 2012 Olympics aquatics centre is likely to cost nearly three times as much as the £75m originally estimated, BBC London has learned.

A scaled-down version of the original wave-shaped building, which will be the gateway to the Olympic park in east London, could cost £215m.

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell sent the architect "back to the drawing board" in 2006 because of spiralling costs.

The venue is now due for completion in 2011, two years later than planned."

(Via BBC NEWS | England | London | Olympic pool costs set to triple: .)

and ...

Building Design has a lot to say about the all glass centre in a culturally mixed community and how the panicky politicians worried about headlines are trying to do world class architecture on a shoestring to keep the daily papers happy.

(Via Bellyflop: Zaha Hadid's reworked Aquatic Centre disappoints - images - Building Design: .)

Olympian Shazza Criticises Short Pool Plans (from Harrow Times)

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We have long been critics of the 25metre tank and teaching puddle solution that makes no one happy. The so-called 'swimming pool consultants' are parachuted in the denigrate the aspirations of the local swimming community wherever a new pool is being considered. They provide 'here today gone tomorrow' councillors with ammunition to approve these ridiculous wastes of money (as most councillors will listen to anyone except the local experts). We are being left with centres that serve those who cannot and may never swim and condemn the community to years of squabbling - but with acres of carparking.

Other London examples would be Mile End pool, Clissold Leisure Centre and Willesden Sports Centre. In two cases carparking was maximised and swimming facilities minimised; as for Clissold where do we start.

The local swimming club is mobilising HERE

"A FORMER Olympic medalist has criticised Harrow Council's future leisure centre plans.

The council is planning to build a 25-metre pool at its new leisure centre, in Christchurch Avenue, and will ignore the outdoor Olympic sized pool on the same site which has fallen into disrepair.

Olympic medalist Sharron Davies said: 'It's a shame, I think it is a step backwards.

'We need more 50-metre pools and it is such a waste when ones that are there are not used.'"

(Via Olympian Criticises Short Pool Plans (from Harrow Times): .)

and...

"A TOP coach believes Harrow's new leisure centre will drive swimmers out of Harrow.

Bill Stokes, chief coach at Harrow and Wealdstone Swimming Club, said: "It seems madness to me, with the Olympics so near, instead of building adequate pools they are being shut down. Harrow Council is the worst offender."

The council has announced plans to build a £36m leisure centre in Christchurch Avenue, Harrow.

The plans include a 25-metre pool, which is significantly shorter than the current 33-and-a-half metre pool.

Mr Stokes believes swimmers will leave the club, which is based at the leisure centre, if the council continues with its plans." [READ THEIR RESPONSE HERE]

(Via Swimmers Will Be Driven Out Of Harrow (from Harrow Times): .)

Sport (Girls): 28 Jan 2008: House of Commons debates (TheyWorkForYou.com)

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Ah now we get it, the reason why sport and physical activity is so low on the totem pole is that our masters think it is a diversion measure for crims and the rest of us aren't interested. So to get sport funded we have to get banged-up?

Gerry Sutcliffe (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Culture, Media & Sport)
"I heartily agree, and I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising this issue. He will know that one of my previous roles was in the Home Office, dealing with young offenders. The busiest place in a young offender institution and, indeed, a prison is the gym, and we must try to channel that activity into sport. I believe that there is a great role for sport to play in helping support offenders and in getting them away from offending."

His colleague Chris Bryant said:

"Paris has more 50 m swimming pools than England and Wales put together. That is partly because it is very expensive for local authorities to build and maintain swimming pools. Will the Government consider building more 50 m pools and making sure that funding comes from central Government, rather than local government?"

(Chris Bryant forgets to mention that he was part of Hackney Council that went on to deny Hackney and London residents a 50m pool when the 25metre, £50million Clissold Leisure Centre was being designed. Ed)

(Via Sport (Girls): 28 Jan 2008: House of Commons debates (TheyWorkForYou.com): .)

flippin' obvious written about again!

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"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: .)

BBC NEWS: Swansea Leisure centre 'rip-off' petition

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"More than 1,000 people have signed a petition calling for entry charges at Swansea's new leisure centre to be cut.
Opposition councillors are behind the protest branding £7 to use the water park "a rip off", although there are discounts for residents and families.
Council leaders insist the fees are not over-priced and say the facilities will be the best in the UK when the £32m revamped centre opens in March."

(Via BBC NEWS | Wales | South West Wales | Leisure centre 'rip-off' petition: .)

Cheam Baths Closed By Brittas (from Your Local Guardian)

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"Councillor Tope has gone from being the Cardinal Wolsey of the Liberal Democrats to the Gordon Brittas of leisure." Councillor John Kennedy

"Swimmers at Cheam Leisure Centre have been told to get out the pool by the 'Gordon Brittas of leisure' Councillor Graham Tope.

At a council meeting on Monday Coun Tope failed to give his cast iron guarantee that the leisure centre, known as Cheam Baths, would not be closed.

'We have known for over 20 years that Cheam is old leisure centre, we have known that for years. We need to have a sensible agreement about what's going to be happening,' he said.

Coun Tope explained that although half a million pounds had been earmarked to be spent on the centre in the next financial year, the cost of upkeeping the pre-war leisure centre may not be sustainable."

(Via Cheam Baths Closed By Brittas (from Your Local Guardian): .)

New £32million LC in Swansea

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"The new water park leisure centre in Swansea isn't due to open until March but already a row has broken out over the planned admission charge of £7.

Families will pay £18 for "a day out", but at busy times will be limited to a two hour visit.

The chief executive says they will have "at least 2 hours" to go on all the fun rides (but if there are queues for different things the time will go pretty quickly.)

BBC News Link

(Via Swim Club Forum Swansea Leisure Centre ... feeling flush?: .)

Revitalising Loampit Vale FAQs - (are we in safe hands? Ed)

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Another spine-cracker for flip 'n' fun, where's the joined-up thinking? - there ain't any!

Will the pool be usable for diving?

"The pool will be built fully in accordance with the Amateur Swimming Association’s requirements and those of Sport England. Neither recommend diving. The main pool will be 2 metres at its deep end.

... and someone said

Neither recommend diving!!!!"

(Via Lewisham Council - Revitalising Loampit Vale FAQs: .)

The Jewish Chronicle and the Clissold story

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As the Jewish and Muslim groups have maintained gender-based swimming in the borough's other pools throughout the four years that Clissold was closed it would be interesting to know whether the people complaining have swum at all in Hackney's pools in that time [LINK]. The main point that this 'complaining' shows up is that with too few pools in a borough the community is divided and condemned to squabble over programming. This Website has long taken a dim view of the ubiquitous 25 metre tank and 'teaching puddle' setup but this shows that even two 25 metre tank centres can be too few for a community.

"A Hackney swimming pool which recently re-opened after a four-year closure has been criticised for instigating a segregated swimming policy to accommodate religious Jews and Muslims.

The policy, which means that Clissold Leisure Centre's training pool is open to women only between 10.45am and 12.30pm every Sunday, was the subject of heated debate at Hackney Council.

Local resident David Toube complained after his wife was not allowed to bring the couple's five-year-old son into the pool as a result of the policy.

He said: "Why should a public institution subsidise the expression, in a public place, of the gender apartheid practice mandated by a small religious minority?'"

(Via The Jewish Chronicle: .)

Obesity: 23 Jan 2008: House of Commons debates

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David Chaytor (Bury North, Labour) Link to this | Hansard source
"Should schools not be assessed on achievements in running, swimming and cycling in exactly the same way as they are assessed on achievements at level 4 in key stage 2, or the gaining of five A-C grades at GCSE?"

(Via Obesity: 23 Jan 2008: House of Commons debates (TheyWorkForYou.com): .)

Problem parent Q&A - Times Online

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Why do people assume that a swimming teacher is the only person that can give their child to the desire and techniques that will help them to swim. The prize for stupidest letter of the month goes to Belinda with:

"....... Stop the lessons now and don't try again for several years. Of course it is important that all children learn to swim, but her life isn't going to be blighted by not being able to swim at the age of 5. "

(Via Problem parent Q&A - Times Online: .)

Plans To Give Lido Major Facelift (from News Shopper)

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"A LIDO could undergo a huge facelift and a new deep diving centre could be built under plans to go before Greenwich Council next week.

Planning permission is being sought to renovate Charlton Lido, Hornfair Park, Shooters Hill Road, and build a diving facility - described as the only one of its kind in the country.

The move by Open Waters Ltd would secure the future of the popular open-air pool, built in 1939, which is badly in need of work.

In the summer of 2004, it was forced to close due to health and safety fears and repeated vandalism, but reopened after pressure from angry swimmers.

The plans would see the existing lido refurbished with new toilets, changing and shower room facilities, a diving shop and a cafe.

A three-storey building would be constructed alongside it, boasting an indoor 35m-deep diving centre, a gym, a club room, teaching space and a manager's flat."

(Via Plans To Give Lido Major Facelift (from News Shopper): .)

From dips to deaths ... shop around to find the best council deals

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"If you are a pensioner and you want a free swim in London, choose a pool in Brent, Islington, Lambeth, Lewisham and Westminster and it won't cost a penny. If you are over 60 and still can't swim and want to learn, instruction is also free in Westminster and Lambeth. But avoid going to Bromley - where it is £3 a time and £10.20 an hour for swimming instruction or Richmond on Thames where it is £3.50 a session.
Outside the capital pensioners can only swim free in the Wirral and Wigan in England but have a much better choice in Wales. Here pensioners are not charged in Blaenau Gwent, Conwy, Ynys Mon (Anglesey), Powys, Rhondda, and Torfaen. ..."
So the answer seems to be keep fit and enjoying swimming in Westminster but move to Nottinghamshire when you think you are about to die. Figures are all supplied by the Chartered Institute of Public Acountancy.

(Via From dips to deaths ... shop around to find the best council deals | Society | Society Guardian: .)

Single Sex Swimming, Religious Minorities and Anti-Discrimination

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The comments with this article include some absolute gems.

'This morning, my wife, five year old son and I thought it might be nice to go swimming in the newly re-opened local swimming pool, Clissold Leisure Centre. We got to the pool at 10.30, to be told that:

- the main pool was too deep to be safe for a five year old;

- the 'training' pool was women only between 10.45 and 12.30 every Sunday;

I got angry. I nearly swore. I rarely get angry at people who are doing no more than implementing a policy, because it isn't fair on them. I apologised.

Not to worry, we thought. I'll go in the main pool. My wife and son will go to the training pool. However, that was not permitted. My son, being of the male gender, was not allowed in a women-only swimming session.

I asked why this policy had been put in place, in a way which prevented families swimming together, at a peak time, on the one day of the week during which both mothers and fathers were likely to be doing family things. What reason was there for barring very little male children from the training pool? Why schedule the single-gender swimming session right in the middle of the morning, so that families which arrived at (say) 10.15 would only have half an hour before they were chucked out? Why not schedule it for early in the morning or late in the evening, or on a week day?

Apparently, the policy had been set by Hackney's Equal Opportunities officer. However, there was a paddling pool open at 11 in which he would be allowed to splash around. No use for learning to swim, we discovered when we got there. The pool was absolutely filled with families with toddlers, many of whom had been chucked out of the training pool in order to make way for the women only swimming session. They stood around for 10 minutes, dripping in the corridor, before the paddling pool was finally open.

While in the paddling pool, I met a woman whose husband was a Hackney councillor. She was also rather angry. I suggested that this was a classic example of an equal opportunities officer trying to cater to an illusory problem, and in doing so, simply feeding the xenophobic prejudices peddled by the Daily Mail.

Apparently not, she said. There were fierce battles in Hackney Council over the issue. The main movers for prime time single sex swimming were the Hassidic jews. She was not racist, she stressed: but they had the advantage of being able to run an effective community-based letter-writing campaign, and of organising politically around the issue.'

(Via Harry's Place Single Sex Swimming, Religious Minorities and Anti-Discrimination: .)

(Via Clissold Leisure Users' News Single Sex Swimming, Religious Minorities and Anti-Discrimination: .)

Position/organisation	^{( 1)} Salary (£)
Chief Executive, ODA	372,600
Director of Construction, ODA	258,750
Director of Finance and Corporate Services, ODA	253,624
Director General, Government Olympic Executive	220,000
Director of Design and Regeneration, ODA	207,000
Director of Transport, ODA	207,000
Director of Property, ODA	207,000
Director of Infrastructure and Utilities, ODA	207,000
Director of Build and Finance, Government Olympic Executive	180,000
Director of Communications, ODA	175,950
⁽¹⁾ The figures are for basic salary only, and do not include for any performance related bonuses, taxable benefits and pension contributions. These additional benefits will be calculated at the financial year-end and detailed in the annual reports and accounts of the Department and the ODA which are laid before the House."