about the swimming pool?

[STBBilly]

its a stupid thing, and i may be being unreasonable, but im not sure.
local council run swimming pool seems to be so restrictive for actual swimming that it is driving me bonkers.
if you have lessons, or are part of a swimming club its fine, but if you want to take your kids swimming, its a military operation to figure out when and if you can go!!
you can use it on a
monday, it 12 till 4
tuesday 10.30-12
wednesday 12-4
thursday, 12-4 and 6.30 til 8
friday, 12-8
sat and sun 10-12 and 2 -6, it may also be closed for the full weekend, due to galas, normally its about once ever 6 weeks
that's it.
and at those times there may or may not be lessons also going on which they then wont allow you in the main pool cause of.
all i want to do is take the kids swimming!!!!
am i being unreasonable to think that thats just bloody annoying?

[maybenow]

it's very annoying, but probably necessary to keep the place open - groups will pay up front and be guaranteed to come along, drop-ins are completely random and variable. also, if you want your kids one day to join a class or club then you'll be pleased they have a pool where they can learn/train.

why don't you just go the same time/day each week and make it easier for yourself?

[MULLYPEEP]

Yanbu it is very annoying. Or they close off baby pool for lessons and only allow non swimmers in a postage stamp are of the big pool. Why can't they leave a postage stamp of baby pool for non swimmers. If they out more lanes in they could accommodate more swimmers.

[STBBilly]

i would maybenow, but i have 3 in 3 schools, with after school clubs, and work etc to try to work about. i just wish they had like a 3 hr thing, between 4 and 7 or 5 and 8 or something where you knew that you could go, possibly not be able to use both pools,, or not have use of the slides or something, but be able to go.

[socharlotte]

Our is much worse than that-for example on a sunday only 2 hours of general swimming!!
Another thing that gets my goat is the 1:2 adult:child ratio. I cannot take 3 under 8s swimming despite they can all swim and a lifeguard on duty., yet during swimming lessons 1 spotty teenager is deemed capble of supervising 10 five yr olds with no life guard !

[BackforGood]

What Maybenow said.

[ClippedPhoenix]

YANBU but guess that's how the accumulate more revenue these days.

[2madboys]

I used to work at a swimming pool so have an idea of how hideously expensive to run they are. Cue much hilarity when visiting my inlays and being told that due to half the pool near them (council run) being taken up with a senior citizens aqua fit session, the rest of the pool was closed in case it got too busy!

[geegee888]

Its pretty normal for swimming pools really. They take bookings like this for revenue, and you have to always check the timetable unless you always go at the same time. At my former local pool, I used to have to check for nude swimming (went in accidentally once!) or "rustige" swimming, when you can't do anything but slow breastroke and they will actually stop you if you do front crawl!

[2madboys]

inlays obviously!

[Jusfloatingby]

I actually joined a gym simply and solely to use the pool because the ordinary pay as you go ones seem to have most of their times blocked off for lessons/aqua aerobics/schools etc etc.

[STBBilly]

nude swimming!?!?!?!?!?!?

[geegee888]

It was mainly pensioners for some reason STDBilly. I walked in in my swimsuit, paused, they waved at me to join them, and I ran away back to the changing rooms...

[geegee888]

Sorry stB oh dear...

[ThatArtfulPussy]

On holiday in France we have often wanted to use the municipal pools, it's just the same there with the added worry that you're never quite sure if you have translated the opening times correctly (my husband once assumed that his French was wrong and it couldn't be that the pool was shut more than it was open, so we turned up at a closed pool. After that I do the translating, thank you very much).

[Hopandaskip]

We (kids and I) were members of a local Ymca pool and they had three full sized pools at two locations. They had a rule that kids under 13 were not allowed to swim in lanes unless they were in classes. My 12 year old just wanted to train for an ocean race and was told no. I said I would sit and supervise him. Still no. No way that he could swim laps and train. The part of the pool without lanes was impossible to swim laps in.

It took me a month to speak to the aquatics director. He was never available and the chinese whispers conversations that went back and forth were frustrating. Finally I got to see him. He said that they didn't allow under thirteens to swim in lanes because they mucked about.

My god, have you ever met a 13yr old boy? I swear they have lobotomies when they turn 13, way less sense than most 11 or 12 year olds and unsupervised.

I said that I'd be happy to supervise him, that he swam better and faster than 80% of the adults swimming (including the wall hanging and chatting ones). Finally he agreed that my paid-as-much-as-the-adults son could swim in lanes if we came in at a non busy time and if an adult wanted the lane to themselves he had to get out. So I sat at the end of the lane in a swimsuit and the odd time an adult told him to get out I got in in his place and swam very slowly and thrashed and splashed a lot until they went to another lane. Most adults could care less if he was swimming in the lane with them.

We didn't renew our membership.

[Fizzylemonade]

I ended up joining a gym with a pool to be able to take a preschooler swimming as all the local pools were shut for school swimming lessons. There are still restrictions on when a child is allowed in the pool, so not before 9, not between 12 - 2, and not after 5 on weekdays.

It is annoying to have to pay for membership, but to be honest we now go when it is very quiet on a weekend, my two boys are now 9 and 6.