Swim England CEO Nickerson Welcomes End Of Pool Closures But Repeats Call For Funding

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Swim England chief executive Jane Nickerson has welcomed the decision to reopen swimming pools when the national lockdown ends but has reiterated her call for financial support to secure the long-term future of facilities.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday that a regional tiered approach will be implemented when the lockdown across England comes to an end on Wednesday 2 December.

Swimming pools and leisure centres will be allowed to open again but Nickerson said the financial pressures facing facilities have not gone away and called for the Chancellor Rishi Sunak to confirm additional support in this week’s spending review.

Photo Courtesy: Swim England

Nickerson said:

“This is a most welcome development and will be music to the ears of the millions of people who go swimming in England each month.

“I commend the Prime Minister for recognising the importance of supporting people’s physical and mental health and allowing swimming pools to play their part in doing just that.

“We know how important the water is for so many people and I can’t wait to see people getting back to doing the activities they love in pools up and down the country.

“Thanks to everyone who has helped our campaign to get pools open – who signed our open letter to the Prime Minister, who contacted their local MP and who showed their support on social media. We couldn’t have done it without you.”

Nickerson though once more repeated her call for increased funding from government to ensure that facilities can survive, saying:

“Whilst today is an incredibly positive day, with millions more people now being able to get back in to the water, we know this is not the end of the road.

“Despite our efforts to successfully secure £100 million of Government investment for leisure centres, the financial pressures facing too many of our swimming facilities has not gone away.

“Therefore we will keep up the pressure on behalf of the aquatics community to get everyone back in the water, and for the financial support our pools and clubs need.”

There will be updated guidance from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport later this week but Swim England published the following guidelines:

Under 18s will be exempt from restrictions as before so all club activity for all disciplines and learn to swim sessions for under 18s are unaffected.
In tier one areas, indoor sports for over 18s can take place within the rule of six. For example, people from different households could play three v three water polo.
Group activities for over 18s such as club training sessions and exercise classes can take place in larger numbers, provided that people are in separate groups (up to six people) that do not mix.
In tier two areas, people over 18 can take part in indoor group activity as long as there is no mixing between households. People can play certain sports which do not involve close proximity or physical contact against one person from another household.
In tier three areas, indoor sport for over 18s will be restricted to within your household only and there should be no group activity such as exercise classes.

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