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A former Olympic swimming coach who heads one of Auckland’s leading swim schools is calling on the New Zealand Government to allow Auckland swimming pools to open with conditions.

Mark Bone, founder and Chief Executive of SwimTastic, says continued pool closures will put lives at risk, and force swim school businesses to close.

Bone points out that empty Auckland pools also make it impossible for top swimmers and triathletes to train for selection standards for both the 2022 Commonwealth Games and world championships. Nor can they get border exemptions to train elsewhere.

As a result, Bone (pictured below) has seen some of Auckland’s top New Zealand representatives have abruptly quitting their sport, commenting “if you are currently permitted to play golf, tennis and go jet skiing and scuba diving at Level 3 Step 1, and sit next to someone while fishing, why can't you go swimming during the less restricted Level 3 Step 2 even when two metres apart from other swimmers in the water?"

He also highlights that with drowning the leading cause of recreational death and the third highest cause of accidental death in New Zealand, nobody in Alert Level 3 regions can learn to swim or learn to be safe in the water, adding “there will be a generation of tens of thousands of Aucklanders missing out on swimming lessons and squad training due to lockdown restrictions.

“Children who have missed vital swimming lessons will be at greater risk next year, more than ever before, and we may see a spike in drownings.”

Bone's concerns are also echoed by elite swimmers.

New Zealand’s top swimmer and Tokyo Olympic double finalist, Wellington’s Lewis Clareburt - ranked second in the world earlier this year in the 400m Individual Medley - currently can’t compete in the pool against fellow Aucklanders, a situation likely to impact his medal chances at both the Commonwealth Games and World Championships next year.

Auckland’s top female swimmer, Olympian Helena Gasson, who has broken multiple New Zealand swimming records at the International Swimming League (ISL) in recent months, faces a different dilemma, noting “we are now contemplating whether to come back home or not because the restrictions are just too much. We can’t afford to stay away but my career won’t survive the restrictions back home. I truly feel for my swimming club and fellow Auckland swimmers.”

Bone cites World Health Organization advice that swimming in a well-maintained, properly chlorinated pool is safe, with no evidence of community spread as maintenance (including disinfection with chlorine) makes the virus inactive in water.

He adds “the majority of Auckland’s indoor pools have excellent ventilation and water filtration systems, and have appropriate prevention and control measures.

"We implore the Government to recognise that swimming pools help people learn a skill that could one day save their life - or someone else’s. With no evidence to suggest that the virus can be transmitted through swimming pool water we believe Auckland’s swimming pools should be allowed to open for booked time slots now.”

Stating that indoor pools have opened throughout the world with COVIDSafe protocols in place, without a single case of community transmission and that there has not been any community transmission in any pool within New Zealand or Australia, Bone concludes “if other countries affected by COVID-19 can open their swimming pools to pre-bookings, why can’t those in Auckland and any other Level 3 region?”

Images courtesy of SwimTastic.

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