Image courtesy of Laps for Life (lapsforlife.com.au)
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Public pools opening back up
P
ublic swimming pools are starting to open back up again. However, different states have varying requirements for the pools to be able to welcome swimmers, and even these requirements are changing rapidly.
“One person per lane is not viable for the centres to open.” The information we are presenting here is accurate at the time of writing, but it can change at any time and should be checked with the relevant authority. Further in the article we’ve supplied a series of links for each jurisdiction.
The Queensland plan
A combined group of commercial aquatics associations have worked together to devise a practical response to the opening of swimming pools, commencing with Queensland. The alliance includes the Australian Swimming Coaches & Teachers Association (ASCTA), The 66 SPLASH! June/July 2020
Australian Swim Schools Association (ASSA), Swimming Queensland, Australian Leisure Facilities Association Qld (ALFAQ), Royal Life Saving Queensland, Brisbane City Council, and venue operators represented by Reece Rackley. They developed a Swimming Pool and Aquatic Centre Industry CovidSafe Plan which was approved by the Queensland Government. The full details of the plan are available here. https://www.covid19.qld.gov.au/__data/ assets/pdf_file/0009/130005/Swimming-Pool-andAquatic-Centre-Industry-COVID-Safe-Plan.pdf Reece Rackley, CEO of City Venue Management & Silk Laundry, says they formed the group to get a united management plan together, and the fact they had a single collective voice instead of fragmented voices from different interests was instrumental in getting approval for the plan from the Queensland Government. “The issue the industry faced was individual bodies rushing to market with information that was not approved, or was based on an article that was republished, and were looking from their own perspective instead of from the benefit for the industry.” He cites the reproduction of an Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) document that mentioned having one person per lane as a way of managing Covid-19 restrictions.