School swimming sessions demand forces changes

BECAUSE of the demand for primary school swimming sessions in Llanelli doubling in the last year public access to Llanelli leisure Centre swimming pool changing rooms has been restricted at school sessions times.

School swimming sessions at Ammanford, Carmarthen and Llandovery swimming pools are between 9.15am and 12.15pm.

Because of large numbers of school children attending the swimming sessions at Llanelli – increasing from 1,400 last year to 3,000 this year, it has been necessary to extend the programme into the afternoon from 1.30pm to 2.15pm from Monday Septemeber 11th, 2011.

Ammanford and Llandovery pools are shut to the public for school swimming sessions because they are smaller but Carmarthen and Llanelli have a minimum of two lanes available for public use while school swimming sessions are in progress. The public restriction for use of changing rooms at school swimming times only applies to Llanelli Leisure Centre.

County executive board member for leisure services Cllr Clive Scourfield said: “There have been concerns about mixed public and school use of the changing rooms in Llanelli and to address this it has been agreed to restrict public use of the changing rooms at the times being advertised via our website actifsirgar.co.uk.

“Historically the public and school children have shared the changing room facility. All our pools offer public swimming early in the morning and at lunchtimes, where the public have full use of the changing rooms.”

Cllr Scourfield said the county leisure centre staff has an ambition to encourage all schools in the county to get primary children to swimming lessons and have all children swimming by the age of 11.

He said: “We offer school swimming to all 108 primary schools in Carmarthenshire teaching in excess of 7000 primary school children annually at four pools.”

Children from seven to 11-years are offered 15 x 45minutes each year

Previously some children had only been offered school swimming for one term in the whole of their primary school time.

The school swimming programme follows the National Plan for teaching swimming which is a nationally recognised programme.

The council’s swimming instructors track all children’s progress and any that need extra help are offered structured sessions during school holidays as part of Carmarthenshire’s free swimming programme.