Let Auckland Swimming Pools Open For Pre-bookings

A former New Zealand Olympic swimming coach who heads one of Auckland’s leading swim schools is calling on the Government to allow Auckland swimming pools to open with conditions.

Mark Bone, founder and CEO of SwimTastic, says continued pool closures will put lives at risk, and force swim school businesses to close.

Empty Auckland pools also make it impossible for top swimmers and triathletes to train for selection standards for both the 2022 Commonwealth Games and world championships. Nor can they get border exemptions to train elsewhere.

As a result, some of Auckland’s top New Zealand representatives have abruptly quit their sport, Bone says.

"If you are currently permitted to play golf, tennis and go jet skiing and scuba diving at Level 3 Step 1, and sit next to someone while fishing, why can't you go swimming during the less restricted Level 3 Step 2 even when two metres apart from other swimmers in the water?"

Drowning is the leading cause of recreational death and the third highest cause of accidental death in New Zealand. Yet nobody in Level 3 regions can learn to swim or learn to be safe in the water.

“There will be a generation of tens of thousands of Aucklanders missing out on swimming lessons and squad training due to lockdown restrictions,” Bone says.

“Children who have missed vital swimming lessons will be at greater risk next year, more than ever before, and we may see a spike in drownings.”

As the national coach throughout the 1990s, Bone witnessed some pretty special moments, including Loader’s double Olympic golds in 1996 and Hamish Carter and Bevan Docherty winning Gold and Silver in 2004.

The only reason pools are to remain closed, even under Level 3 Step 2, is that that the use of face coverings at those facilities is deemed impractical. When swimmers are in the water they do not converse, unlike customers in libraries and in retail outlets. Face coverings can be worn any other time.

Auckland’s top female swimmer, Olympian Helena Gasson, has broken multiple New Zealand swimming records at the International Swimming League (ISL) in recent months. She is competing in the ISL playoffs in the Netherlands this week.

“We are now contemplating whether to come back home or not because the restrictions are just too much. We can’t afford to stay away but my career won’t survive the restrictions back home. I truly feel for my swimming club and fellow Auckland swimmers.”

New Zealand’s top swimmer and Tokyo Olympic double finalist, Wellington’s Lewis Clareburt was ranked second in the world earlier this year in the 400m Individual Medley. He can’t get a secure MIQ booking to go overseas, so wants some competition from Aucklanders, so he can again medal at both the Commonwealth Games and World Championships next year.

“I can’t compete against people in New Zealand who feel forced to leave the sport. I need swimmers around me to push me to be the best I can be. Let those in Auckland have the opportunity to train so they can do that.”

According to the World Health Organisation, swimming in a well-maintained, properly chlorinated pool is safe, with no evidence of community spread as maintenance (including disinfection with chlorine) makes the virus inactive in water.

“The majority of Auckland’s indoor pools have excellent ventilation and water filtration systems, and have appropriate prevention and control measures,” Bone said.

"We implore the Government to recognise that swimming pools help people learn a skill that could one day save their life – or someone else’s. With no evidence to suggest that the virus can be transmitted through swimming pool water we believe Auckland’s swimming pools should be allowed to open for booked time slots now.”

In Australia, while the New South Wales Government has been concerned about community health and wellbeing associated with the spread of COVID, it fast-tracked the reopening of indoor pools for an increased range of activities, noting the impact restrictions have had on the mental health and social cohesion of communities. Australia also witnessed a 108 per cent increase in drownings from the previous year.

Indoor pools have opened throughout the world with Covid safe protocols in place, without a single case of community transmission nor has there been any community transmission in any pool within New Zealand or Australia, Bone says.

“If other countries affected by Covid-19 can open their swimming pools to pre-bookings, why can’t those in Auckland and any other Level 3 region?

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