Pool plans upset parents

Thursday, 15 February 2024

Pirates swim team coach Steve Francis says the plan to cut pool hours will have a major impact on the community.

Wellington parents are calling for an 11th hour reprieve on plans to cut hours at Karori and other pools, saying they fly in the face of the country’s appalling drowning statistics.

The pools, which have nurtured some of the capital’s top swimmers including Olympians Samantha Lucie-Smith and Lewis Clareburt, are, along with a raft of other community facilities, under potential threat as the council looks to find more money to fix the city’s leaky pipes and other issues.

Former mayor Justin Lester’s two children, aged 11 and 13, are at Karori Pool on average 10 times a week, either swimming or playing water sports.

They previously swam at Tawa Pool, which the council says is the least used of Wellington’s seven pools, and is tipped to have its opening hours slashed.

Reducing hours or operating days would be “a real kick in the guts,” he said, adding that at 1.8 drownings per 100,000 people New Zealand has one of the highest drowning rates in the world.

Former mayor Justin Lester says cutting pool hours would be a “kick in the guts.”

“Reducing already constrained access to swimming pools would only exacerbate the issue.There are plenty of other good ideas for council to reduce the level of rates. This isn't one of them,” Lester said.

Steve Francis has run the hugely popular Pirates Swim Team out of Karori Pool for 17 years, building the squad from around 20 to more than 200 competitive swimmers, alongside junior and adult non-competitive groups, across all age groups.

He has seen generations, from babies to grandparents, using the pool and says plans to move from a seven to six day opening would be devastating for not just the swimming community but the wider community.

“A can-do attitude and some good planning has allowed us to not only build a great pathway for kids, but create a top 10 New Zealand age group swim programme out of a couple of lanes at the pool.

“By taking a day away it would take away a lot of opportunity for the kids, especially around that vulnerable 14 and 15 year age group when there’s a whole lot of things happening in their lives.

“That’s a really delicate time … losing the ability to provide them with enough [training] sessions to keep improving and keep featuring nationally would have a major effect.”

Karori Pool is more than just a place to swim, says parent Cameron Whyte, whose daughters visit the pool between six and seven days a week.

Francis wanted to see the council better promoting community facilities, rather then writing them off.

“The council has this really great asset sitting in our community. If money or revenue is an issue then they should be finding ways to utilise it and get more groups in during their quieter times.”

Another parent, Cameron Whyte, has written to Mayor Tory Whanau and other councillors, asking them to reconsider their proposals and to “prioritise the needs of the community.”

He and his daughters, aged 12 and 14, visit the pool between six and seven days. He swims socially and trains for triathlons, while his daughters both swim in Francis’ Pirates team.

Whyte said the pool offered a range of services and programmes, catering to a diverse and inclusive clientele, from babies and toddlers, to seniors and people with disabilities, to ethnic and cultural minorities, to low income and vulnerable groups.

“Karori Pool is more than just a place to swim. It is a hub for our community, where people can meet, socialise, learn, and have fun.”

The Kōrau Tōtōpū | Long-term Plan, Finance, and Performance Committee meets this morning to vote on the 2024-34 LTP and which proposals will go forward for formal consultation with the community.