There is some reprieve for swimmers as the opening hours at the Trafalgar Park Swimming Pool in Woodstock have been extended while renovations take place at the Long Street Indoor Swimming Pool.
And while this move has been welcomed, a swimming club, which says it has called repeatedly for longer hours at Woodstock’s public pool, has questioned why the City has only now granted this request.
In a statement, the City said that from Friday March 1 to Wednesday March 20, public pools would be open weekends only but would be open daily for the March school holidays until Monday April 1 when they would close for the off-season.
But just a week later, the City said the Trafalgar Park pool, which includes a 48 metre-long main pool and a 22m-long children’s pool, would be open from Monday March 11 to Sunday April 12, from 7am to 5pm on weekdays and 10am to 5pm on weekends.
Mayoral committee member for community services and health Patricia van der Ross said that only applied to the Trafalgar Park pool to accommodate those who used the Long Street pool while it underwent maintenance.
The Trafalgar Aquatics Club (formerly known as the Trafalgar Amateur Aquatics Club) has used the facility for training since the 1980s and offers free swimming lessons for children and adults and competitive training with coaches and club members giving their time and expertise for free.
Club chairman Nadiema Safter said the pool’s opening hours, from 10am to 5pm from Monday to Sunday, were inadequate for summer, and despite long queues at the facility, the club’s repeated requests for longer hours had been turned down by the City in the past.
“For years, we have been asking for longer hours, but now that the Long Street pools are closed, they can change the times from 10am to 5pm, till 7am to 7pm,“ she said, calling for ”equality across the board“.
Ms Safter said the City had also denied the club’s repeated calls for the pool’s depth-gauge rope to be removed during training sessions, as it was a distraction for swimmers, but now it had been taken out with the extension of the opening hours.
The club’s head coach, Yusuf Gamiet, said he had learnt to swim at the Trafalgar pool at age 7, and by 14 he was training younger swimmers, and he later taught swimming in Dubai.
There was a great need for public swimming facilities especially for those who could not afford private swimming training, he said.
“There are many facilities that have become privatised with them offering training at a cost of R250 for 20 minutes and upwards – this is not a viable option for all. City facilities are becoming commercialised – something which taxpayers are paying for.”
Deputy chairman and coach Howard Williams said the club had long fought for the pool to stay open and be accessible to all.
“In 2008, there was talk of the pool being sold to developers, and we had to step in to stop that. We also had to fight for the City to invest in the facility and to carry out much-needed repairs. The facility was closed for three years for repairs, and then the water crisis hit. The pool also only opened in December for this season.”
Ms Safter, however, commended the City on the upkeep of the facility, saying the grounds were always well kept and the quality of water was good. She said the City also planned to revamp the old club house.
The club has about 100 members with about 80 active swimmers and offers training on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Ms Van der Ross said the Observatory swimming pool would remain closed while repairs were done in phases with the first phase including upgrades to the pool basin, pipework and deck.
