Womens Rights Network - swimming changing rooms - good news

[Manchesteruser]

From Women Rights Network:

England has put its swimming pool guidance under review with immediate effect.

Last week we highlighted the Councils that have told us they follow to the letter Sport England’s advice to install mixed-sex changing villages for swimmers.

This week Sport England has posted a notice on its Swimming Pool guidance page stating that the Accessible and Inclusive Facilities and Swimming Pool Guidance is ‘under review’.

Could the Equality and Human Rights Commission Code of Practice and Ukactive guidelines for leisure centre operator stating that offering only mixed-sex changing facilities could discriminate against women and girls have concentrated minds further?

Is Sport England finally waking up to the terrible damage it has caused with its blanket recommendation that ‘mixed-sex changing villages are the preferred option’ for new and refurbished swimming pools?

Our Red Flag Campaign continues to highlight the dangers of mixed-sex changing rooms. The safest changing room is a single-sex changing room.

Isn't that great news!

The crazy thing about the wording 'preferred option' is that, according to Sport England, it wasn't them saying that they preferred the option of mixed changing, it was Sport England saying that most leisure centres preferred the option of mixed changing.

The confusion over the wording was highlighted on TwiX yesterday:

https://x.com/SexMattersOrg/status/2086815893359612381?s=20

So the leisure centres were doing what Sports England told them and Sports England were doing what the leisure centres told them. 🤪

It sounds like good news though, Sports England are now going to do what is lawful and right. 🥳

Good news - the only public swimming pool in my area has one of these ridiculous changing village arrangements. I and other women I know will never use them in their current configuration.

That's good news! Sports England was previously shirking responsibility by saying it's up to local councils, which made me wonder, what is the point of Sports England?!

Good news! Bumping

The bumping is very effective, I woke up this am to 30 notifications, all of them bumpytbumps. 👍

Prepared to be slaughtered...

But all the women I know just want a cubicle over open plan.
Womans only cubicles would be ideal, but never seen that.

My local open-air pool has both. Most of the regulars (swimmers, rather than the day visitors in it for the suntanning 🤣) seem to prefer the communal changing. I suspect that's because it's right next to the (equally open plan) showers, cleaner, less elbow-bangingly claustrophobic, and offers the opportunity for a nice relaxed chat. It's not in the UK though, and nobody tries to change contorted under a towel, not with only other women around.

It's not in the UK though

Well, as this thread is about Sport England, it eludes me how what the people who use your open-air pool feel about mixed-sex changing spaces is relevant to swimming pool guidance in England.