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    10

    Jul 2020

    Last Updated: 10/07/2020

    Harrogate swimming clubs excited to get back in the water

    by Suzannah Rogerson

    | 10 Jul, 2020
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    Indoor pools will reopen on July 25. The Harrogate Diving Club are "thrilled" to be allowed to train again but for Harrogate's independent swimming schools it is still unclear when classes can resume.

    harrogate-diving-club

    Indoor pools are set to reopen on 25 July. Swimming teachers and clubs are excited to get back in the water, but for small swimming schools it's not yet clear when they can return.


    Leanne Jalland, chair of the Harrogate District Diving club, said:

    "I was thrilled to hear the announcement, our club has been actively involved in the Swim England Open Our Pools campaign so we are delighted. Our club has been doing all we can to ensure that our divers can return to training safely.
    "All of our club members are competitive divers and were training for competitions pre-covid. Some of them have trained every week for years in preparation for these competitions, it's a huge part of their life. Understandably it has been hard for a lot of our divers for this to suddenly stop. Like the rest of the country we are embracing a new normal."









    But for independent swimming schools who hire pools to teach in the guidance was unclear if they can resume classes. Paula Stewart, owner of Turtle Tots swimming academy, said:

    "It is still very unclear when we can return to lessons as we have to wait for the private non public swim facilities which we hire from, to open their doors to us. We are hoping for a September return but on a smaller scale than before.
    "When we return, we will be operating from the new STA Covid-19 guidelines which to be honest will be very different from the lessons our clients were used to, but I am confident when we do return it will soon become the new norm. We are not out of the woods yet as there are no guarantees."


    Louise Aikman, owner of Harrogate Swimming School said:


    "We will be starting to make plans but we still have a lot of work to do including following all the guidelines. We'll be starting very small to get confident, for example we'll have to reduce the class sizes to 1-2-1s and 1-2-2s just to make it safe. Those that can swim 25m and be left alone can return to their lessons. We are all very excited to get back to teaching."
    "We’re delighted the government has advised it is safe for leisure facilities to open from 25 July. Customer safety comes first. So we’re busy working on new guidance as well as staff training and cleaning procedures. We'll have more news in the coming days of what facilities will open and when."