Harrogate District Diving Club returned to Harrogate this week after more than three years of disruption caused by covid and the refurbishment of the Hydro.

The club has an enviable record of producing talent, including Olympic champion Jack Laugher. It also caters for people who want to dive for fun and runs DiveAbility sessions for children with additional needs.

But it has been a frustrating few years: the delayed re-opening of the Hydro meant club members had to travel to Shipley to practice, not knowing when they would be able to return to their home pool.

Numbers dwindled but the new look club returned to the newly named Harrogate Leisure and Wellness Centre last week.

A host of new appointments have been made, including Albany Thompson, from Leeds Diving Club, as head coach.

Albany Thompson

New chair Mandy Ward said:

“It’s a brand new start to build the club back up. It’s been a difficult period but the investment in the leisure centre means diving in Harrogate has been secured for at least another 20 years.

“Now we need to get more people aware of it and help the club grow.”

Chloe Blackburn prepares to dive.

The pool, which is run by Brimhams Active, a leisure company controlled by North Yorkshire Council, has a one-metre board, a five-metre board and two three-metre boards.

Many local divers have achieved national coaching positions around the world but Ms Ward said anyone aged six or above who can swim and isn’t afraid of deep water was welcome to join.

For more details email diveharrogate@gmail.com

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Harrogate District Diving Club has said the looming nine-month closure of Harrogate Hydro will be worth the short-term disruption.

The club, which has more than 50 members and helped produce Olympic champion Jack Laugher, faces the prospect of not being able to return to its home pool until next year. The Hydro is due to close for major refurbishment on April 8.

Some divers will train at other venues, including Shipley diving pool. Others will stop training altogether until the Hydro reopens. Since the announcement of the Hydro’s closure two divers have left the club.

Divers can also use Jennyfield Styan Community Centre for dry land sessions using a full size diving board. These sessions allow divers to dive off the board onto a crash mat.

Harrogate Hydro, Jennyfield Drive.

The diving boards have not been in use since November 2020 due to structural problems.

The renovation work will include new diving facilities at the same heights as before. Club chair Leanne Jalland said:

“We welcome the closure and renovations, whilst it is not ideal to be away from the pool in the short-term. The current diving facilities were at the end of their life and needed to be replaced.

“A little short-term disruption without a pool while the new diving facilities are being rebuilt is worth it because the new facilities secure the future of diving in Harrogate for a few more decades.”

Ms Jalland added the club had been preparing for a loss in funds due to the work and had secured funding from Sport England to fund hiring space at other diving venues.

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She said:

“We are passionate about introducing more children in our community to diving and while the Hydro is closed that will not stop. Considering that during the start of the pandemic we only had a dozen divers left, we’ve managed to grow the club considerably during a difficult time period with limited facilities and resources.

“So imagine what we can do with our new facility. We can’t wait for next year, the future is looking bright for our club.”

The £11.8 million refurbishment will give the Hydro a new two-storey extension, entrance, cafe and reception area.

There will also be a new fitness suite and the changing areas will be upgraded.

Mark Tweedie, managing director of Brimhams Active, which Harrogate Borough Council set up last year to run its leisure facilities, said the plan was to reopen the pool first in nine months time.

Harrogate District Diving Club is gearing up to welcome 40 new divers next week after the Olympics increased interest in the sport.

One of the club’s former members, Ripon’s Jack Laugher, won bronze in the men’s individual three-metre springboard event at the Tokyo Olympics to go with the gold medal he won in Rio in 2016.

His success, along with that of other divers, such as Tom Daley, has encouraged more people to take up the sport.

The Harrogate club has helped to develop numerous elite divers over the years, most notably Laugher and Oliver Dingley.

Leanne Jalland, chair of the club, said the creation of Brimhams Active, which was set up by Harrogate Borough Council to manage leisure facilities, including the Hydro, had been a “positive step” because it had led to increased diving time in the pool.

Ms Jalland said:

“This is a positive step forward, we’re increasing the number of divers locally.

“Everyone is keeping to their promises and we’ve been able to come up with a pathway, which means diving in Harrogate is secure long-term.”

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The club’s success comes even though the pool’s diving platform has been out of use since cracks were found in November last year.

The poolside scaffolding looks set to remain in place for some time as the council has yet to appoint a contractor or offer a timescale for the repair work.

In the meantime, divers are making use of the club’s two mobile one-metre diving boards. Some members have had to travel to West Yorkshire to use better diving facilities.

A council spokesperson said:

“We will be replacing the current diving platform at the Hydro due to its age and the amount of work required to fix it.

As previously confirmed we will announce timescales for the replacement once a contractor has been appointed and a programme of works has been agreed.”

Ripon’s Jack Laugher goes for gold at the Olympics tomorrow — but the diving boards at the Harrogate Hydro pool where he used to train have been out of use for eight months.

Laugher began his career with Harrogate District Diving Club, as did Oliver Dingley, who represents Ireland in the Olympic diving tomorrow.

The top club has seen an increase in the number of young people interested in taking up the sport since the Tokyo games began.

But the diving boards at the Hydro, which is owed by Harrogate Borough Council, have been out of action since November last year after cracks were found in the concrete supports.

It means local young divers who aspire to be the next Jack Laugher are having to make do with a mobile one-metre board or travel to another pool in West Yorkshire.

Families have expressed frustration at the apparent lack of urgency to resolve the matter.

Today Richard Cooper, the Conservative leader of Harrogate Borough Council, which owns the Hydro, described the situation as “concerning” and called for a report to be produced within weeks.

In an article on the Community News website run by Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, Cllr Cooper said:

“This is very concerning and I am hoping to see a further detailed report within the next few weeks with recommendations as to how we can move forward.

“Clearly the safety of customers is paramount and the boards cannot be opened until they are made safe.”

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The Stray Ferret asked the council for an update on when the boards will be repaired.

A council spokesperson said there had been no update since its previous statement this month, which said:

“Unfortunately, during a routine inspection of the diving board platform at The Hydro in Harrogate, cracks in the concrete were discovered.

“A further independent survey was carried out to establish the stability, integrity and durability of the diving structure.

“Results show that the diving platform should not be used until work has been carried out.

“We are exploring possible options and will have an update in due course.”