Issue 348 – Leisure centre defends changes for early morning swimmers

Frome Leisure Centre has replied to criticism of the changes they have made to lane changes for early morning swimmers.Regular swimmer, Bob Lee, explained in Frome Times on 2nd February, “What a shame that Avalon Leisure UK Ltd have imposed heavy lane discipline on the early morning swimming sessions at Frome Pool. “There is a double-spaced lane for less confident swimmers who may swim more slowly than others. Two further lanes are for medium swimmers and two for fast swimmers. No tests yet for swimmers to be categorised! Many people complain about the restriction of these lanes; we feel like battery hens!”Bob Lee has now received a letter from Frome Leisure Centre manager, Sarah Cruwys, who explains that sister sites have managed a similar layout successfully for many years. She said, “The decision to change the layout was not taken lightly. One of the primary drivers was the difficulty in staffing the pool with two leisure attendants for a short period of time early in the morning. “In the old set up, it was not possible to have only one lifeguard, therefore a full risk assessment was carried out and an additional pool alarm fitted allowing us to safely reduce staffing to one.“In an attempt to accommodate all paces and types of swimmers the decision was made to keep a larger section of the pool open for those customers who do not wish to swim in a single lane, the leisure attendants are then tasked to ensure they lane manage the sections effectively. “Team training on how to manage the layout has taken place, however, I accept that this has not necessarily been successful. I will therefore ensure that further training takes place and am confident that when managed effectively, the new layout will work.”