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SWIMMING - DROP IN NUMBERS

121 replies

Bitterlemon12 · 29/01/2015 19:08

Has anyone seen the news today saying there is a huge drop in the numbers of people going swimming every week. Just want to rant on this! Hardly surprising and not news! The swimming pools in Swindon where I live are expensive, around £5 upwards per swim, per person, and totally run down and freezing cold with repulsive, smelly, disgusting changing rooms. My 2 year old goes purple with the cold and I find it unbearable at times.

If it was free, or say £1 per time I would love to go on a regular basis maybe twice a week but no wonder no one wants to go at the moment!

OP posts:
mrscumberbatch · 29/01/2015 19:10

It is really expensive and quite unpleasant.

We are lucky enough to have access to a privately owned pool in someone's home and it has screwed me for life as there's no way I could go back to public swimming having experienced this!!

meglet · 29/01/2015 19:11

I'm not surprised. Our pool is taken over by swimming lessons most of the day. There's a lane swim at lunchtime and tea-time.

They even have kids swimming lessons at 9am on Sunday mornings Shock

NomDePlumeRidesAgain · 29/01/2015 19:11

My gym pool is rammed all the time. Local council pool is revolting though. And cold.

Orangeanddemons · 29/01/2015 19:12

Completely agree. The cost is way too big, and the conditions are awful.

Cold, smelly, dirty changing rooms, used nappies lying around everywhere.

Ugh I hate swimming. Well, I enjoy swimming, I just hate thepools

MrsVamos · 29/01/2015 19:13

Yep.

Local pool has had loads of complaints, apparently it is kept colder for the swim teams, meaning its too cold for younger ones.

Expensive & other pools closing.

Also, in the 24/7 world we live in, people don't have time.

Its a great 2012 legacy. Not. Sad

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 29/01/2015 19:13

I'm surprised. Our local council pool is £3 for a swim (most expensive rate without any of the memberships), under 5s and over 65s swim free. Pool I'd warm. Changing cubicles are adequately clean with underfloor heating. You have to pick your time though as the pool tends to be rammed.

Guyropes · 29/01/2015 19:15

Not to mention the austerity measures which mean some councils are reducing the opening hours in their facilities.

WhenMarnieWasThere · 29/01/2015 19:15

I take my DD swimming most weeks. But only because I can drive about 10 miles to do so. The local pool has warm air, but cold water and it's expensive. The one a few towns over has a baby pool, a toddler pool and a main pool. The main pool is comfortable and the baby pools are lovely and warm.

Best of all, they run a free family swimming session from 10 to 12 every Sunday morning. It can be quite busy, but not unpleasantly so.

KatherinaMinola · 29/01/2015 19:16

Yes, I'm not surprised either - round here it would cost over £6 to stand in a cold pool swishing DD about for half an hour. I can get to the seaside for a tenner!

NormHonal · 29/01/2015 19:17

At that price, swimming lessons at £8 a pop and the odd Center Parcs holiday seem like reasonable value for money!

We don't go to our local pool because the toddler session places are very tightly limited and almost-impossible to come by. They could allow more places, but don't, for some made-up reason.

It was also impossible to get a place in the council pool swimming lessons, hence we go to the local private school.

And local pool also way too cold for young children.

wonkylegs · 29/01/2015 19:17

Ours is always full even in the evenings but it's a lovely council centre with multiple pools. £3.60 for adults, a lot less for concessions and kids swimming lessons are only £4. It's very popular.

ireallydontlikemonday · 29/01/2015 19:17

It's £20 for me, DH and two three year olds including parking. DH and I not have to go because have to be one on one with under fives.

That's £80 a month for a 40 min splash around once a week.

Interestingly, the Olympic pool is cheaper than my local pool so we're going to give it a go.

I love swimming, I want my kids to love swimming but no wonder numbers are dropping - £20 is prohibitively expensive to a lot of people.

TaurielTest · 29/01/2015 19:19

Our local pool is basic (one big one, one small one), but clean, warm and inexpensive - DS1 has afterschool lessons there, I take DS2 for a lunchtime splash once a week, and go and do lengths in the evenings myself sometimes too. Maybe ItsAllGoingToBeFine and I are in the minority, but this surprises me...

LooksLikeImStuckHere · 29/01/2015 19:25

We have a teaching pool for the under 8s. It can be lovely and warm or a bit chilly but they don't open it if under 30 degrees. Children under 8 are free.

However, any adult going with them (and under 8s obviously require them to be in the pool) pays nearly £6. All the time, no off peak rates or anything.

If swimming in the main pool, same price but lanes frequently roped off for lessons so hardly any space for others.

Unisex changing rooms disgusting. Showers (half not working) facing out onto the main pool so you are completely on show. Wee on the floor, dirty, smelly...

I love swimming, but I hate going to that pool. At least that's my excuse for choosing to stay at home in the warm Grin

CarlaVeloso · 29/01/2015 19:25

I don't do it because I feel like I'm having a bath with strangers...

Ludways · 29/01/2015 19:28

Our local pool is great, it was built in 1982 as part of a big leisure centre and was very plush at the time so has stood the test of time. It's only £3 for a swim, half the pool is lanes and half a free for all, 8 lanes wide, so enough room for everyone. There's also a pool for swimming lessons, a separate diving pool and a toddler pool. It has slides too which go into the swimming lesson pool. We're very lucky.

It's a double edged sword for me though, I'm very fast so I need a pretty empty pool to swim properly, however it's so nice it's always full, lol

Pantone363 · 29/01/2015 19:30

I posted about our local council pool last week.

Over £7 for kids and adults (20p difference in prices!) that's for a normal swim session.

Changing rooms are filthy, pool is cold.

imip · 29/01/2015 19:31

My local pool is terrible. We go regularly, I'd say its about 40 yrs old (local dad said he learnt to swim as a kid there).

Worst thing is that the communal showers have been cold for about three weeks and they don't give a shit!

AndreaZuckerman · 29/01/2015 19:33

We're quite lucky we live close to a fairly newly built council run leisure centre that has 2 pools. It's £3.60 for adult non members, free for under 8's, and free for kids under 17 that are members. It's also free for kids to become members, and it means that they're members of all council run pools in the city. The facilities are pretty clean as they're so new too.

stillstandingatthebusstop · 29/01/2015 19:36

I think swimming is time consuming, because you get home and you have loads of wet towels and swimwear to deal with. I always need to have a proper shower and wash my hair as well.

I love swimming though, but I haven't been going so often over the winter. Brrrrrrrrrr.

redskybynight · 29/01/2015 19:37

Our local pool has more than halved the public swim sessions available. Means the pool is always crammed when it is open, but I suspect their numbers overall are still down.

TalkinPeace · 29/01/2015 19:39

where does the data come from?

my private club has pools and there are more swimmers than ever

my alma mater has a pool that is busier than ever

Hulababy · 29/01/2015 19:40

At our two local pools there are swimming lessons almost all of Saturday and most evenings in the proper pools. The leisure pool isnt suitable for proper swimming and really just for playing.

It's hardly surprising tbh.

suboptimal · 29/01/2015 19:42

We go probably once or twice a month.

The pool is warm though and there's a choice of 4 pools, an outside area, a couple of slides and jacuzzis. It's also very clean, even if you go at busy times the cleaners are always there on top of it.

I pay £3 for two of us for 3 hours.

If they were all like this I bet people would go much more.

The facilities for parents and kids are great too. There's a communal mums and babies and a dads and kids room, so you can get changed right next to a bank of lockers with heat lamps, baby change tables and a playpen right there. I find lugging all our stuff, bags plus shoes and coats and trying to wrangle a toddler from a private cubicle to the lockers a nightmare. Communal is so much easier.

Cleanbean · 29/01/2015 20:07

I am not surprised. Our local pool is disgusting. I brave it once a week to take the DCs to their swimming lessons but we never go at any other time. It smells and the changing rooms are filthy. To get to the pool you have to walk through the showers. All the parents watching swimming lessons do this with their mucky shoes. There is a notice requesting people wear overshoes but there are normally none available. There was actually some lovely looking sludge at the side of the pool the other weekShock