Petition launched to 'Save Middleton Amateur Swimming Club'

Middleton Arena

Middleton Amateur Swimming Club could see pool time reduced, due to a new pool timetable proposed by Link4Life for the Middleton Area pool.

Under the new plans, proposed to take place from 1 April 2018, the club would lose access to the smaller pool, and half of the larger pool, and have their allocated time cut by 15 minutes.

Middleton Amateur Swimming Club has been run entirely by volunteers since 1895 and currently has ten volunteers, including eight swimming instructors.

The club teaches approximately 60 children how to swim, and has access to the pool on Wednesday evenings between 6.30pm – 9pm during term time.

Swim instructor and treasurer Cathie Murphy, who has been a volunteer with the club for around 15 years, said: “We have all been taught to teach, and we need the learner pool to do this. Ideally, we would like to keep our space and time.

“Link4Life is proposing to pass the older children on to us after they have been through their academy and got their badges. We do not have that many older children really, most of them are younger and we teach about 60.”

She added: “We do not make any profit from our sessions and we often have to fund raise. All the money is put back into the club through things like training courses and equipment.”

A petition to save the club has been launched in response to the proposals, which outlines how the club has provided affordable swimming lessons to the children of Middleton since its establishment 122 years ago.

The committee and volunteers of Middleton Amateur Swimming Club are in negotiations with Link4Life and an upcoming meeting is due to take place.

Andy King, CEO of Link4Life, said: “Link4Life is presently undertaking a periodic review of its swimming pool programmes; the purpose of this review is to ensure the programmes offer the widest accessibility for all residence of the Borough and to ensure the swimming pools are operating to their maximum potential.

“We are reviewing the swimming pools in a phased approach starting at Middleton Arena and have been consulting over the last few months with members of the public, user groups and clubs to gain an insight into what people would like from their swimming pool programme.

“Link4Life is currently working with clubs to facilitate a pathway from the Link4Life Swim Academy into the club so that children and young people can continue to develop their swimming skills and enjoy staying health and active within the club environment.”

To sign the petition, visit:

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-middleton-amateur-swimming-club