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ON Thursday 13 November I went to the Wellington municipal swimming pool in Pentz Street with some friends for an afternoon of leisure. There were some pupils of Huguenot Primary practising in the pool.
My problem is that they had a rope line across the length of the swimming pool, approximately one third of the pool from the edge, which was to signal to the other swimmers to stay out of the area.
When my friends and I attempted to swim in that part their coach told us to swim in the remainder of the pool, which was very full.
I cannot understand how they are allowed to do this. When we tried to play with a tennis ball, we were informed by one of the workers that it is not allowed, even though this school was allowed to put a rope in the water which could strangle or injure the pool users.
We regular users of the pool also pay to enter and our money is just as good as that of the next person.
In the last couple of years the price to enter has drastically increased, but there has not been much improvement in the facilities or service.
S Albanie
The Municipal Manager, Jacques Carstens, replies: Drakenstein Municipality tries to accommodate local swimming clubs/schools at the municipal swimming pools.
Some sections of the pools are allocated to these clubs, while the public can still make use of the other sections.
These clubs and schools pay the normal entrance fees. Over many years ropes have been used at all the swimming pools, without any injury occuring.
The prohibition of ball games is to prevent injury, which can easily occur because of the number of users.
Over the last four years fees have increased from R2 to R3,50 for adults, with the option to buy a seasonal ticket at R51.
These very low tariffs result in a big financial loss for municipal swimming pools and is therefore a subsidised service to the community. |