The future is looking bleak for Huddersfield’s oldest amateur swimming club.
That’s the view of swim club officials after a showdown meeting with Kirklees Active Leisure (KAL) over planned changes.
They claim the body running Kirklees Council’s swim pools is insisting that beginners can no longer be taught by volunteers at clubs in the town.
Now Huddersfield Amateur Swimming Club faces likely shutdown after 150 years, according to official Martin Greenhalgh.
He believes the only hope is for intervention by Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman and Colne Valley MP Jason McCartney.
“I am raising this issue of the KAL monopoly with both MPs.
“KAL will shortly have achieved their goal and all the hard-working volunteers and the history of amateur swimming in Huddersfield will be consigned to the scrapheap”.
Mr Greenhalgh said: “KAL want to be the monopoly supplier of swimming lessons to children stages 1 to 5 (beginners) of the Aquatics Pathway.
“The Aquatics Pathway has 10 stages and is a national scheme supported by the ASA. However how this pathway is implemented is the responsibility of KAL”.
Mr Greenhalgh said that he believed the changes were driven by finances, with KAL believing that by insisting that they have a monopoly to teach the beginners they will see a financial benefit.
“The children that use the amateur clubs are from families that cannot afford KAL prices or they require special attention.
“Our experience tells us that those children that the amateur clubs would have taught will either no longer get swimming lessons because they cannot afford them or they will get private lessons outside the KAL pools.”
A KAL spokesman said: “Over the past 12 months or so KAL have been working closely with Kirklees Council, the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA), West Yorkshire Sport and all of the Kirklees Swimming clubs to develop an overall, improved Aquatics Pathway for Kirklees.
“Huddersfield Amateur Swimming Club has decided not to commit to the delivery of the new aquatics pathway and have also decided not to re locate to a new pool time – of which various options were provided by KAL.
“A final meeting took place to provide the club with an opportunity to consider moving, this was once again refused.
“We currently have 15 aquatic clubs, six of which are swimming clubs who hire KAL facilities. Three of these swimming clubs have commenced working in partnership with KAL and two are currently in negotiation to implement the new Kirklees Aquatics Pathway. There is no other club that has suggested that they will close down”.
The spokesman added: “One of KALs main aims is to ensure that our facilities and services are available to all Kirklees residents.
“KAL certainly face major financial challenges over the years ahead, but the need to make the swimming pools as financially efficient is matched by the need to provide an improved Aquatics Pathway with the clubs and KAL complementing and working with one another”.
