Olympic legacy has taken a dive in Shropshire

The county has 12 competitive swimming clubs catering for everyone from five-year-olds just getting water-confident, to national and international athletes.

But the county which was birthplace to the first man to swim the English Channel, Dawley's own Captain Webb, can't even boast one competition-standard pool.

And despite the much-vaunted Olympic legacy, it seems swimmers are missing out when it comes to decent facilities for their sport.

As well as nowhere to compete, swimmers used to training up to 20 hours a week often find their council-run pools closed for lengthy periods for maintenance or refurbishment.

Wellington was closed for more than a year while the town's civic and leisure centre was redeveloped – even though no changes were made to the pool itself.

Oakengates, Market Drayton, Madeley and Bridgnorth have all been closed for running repairs, and Newport is not expected to re-open before March after work to install a new gym ran over by three months.

And this month the prospect that the county's best pool – the Quarry in Shrewsbury – could be demolished has prompted swimmers, coaches, parents and officials to launch a campaign to make sure any replacement is up to standard.

Jean Childs, one of Shropshire's top swimming officials and a member of Shropshire Amateur Swimming Association's executive committee, said there was no dispute that the Quarry was outdated but called for a new competition-standard pool to be built in the county before it was demolished.

She said: "We need a minimum of a six-lane 25m pool with electronic timing and seating for spectators. They need to talk to the right people to make sure we get the right pool."

There are plenty of pools in Shropshire, including newly-built ones at Much Wenlock, Oswestry and Madeley in Telford – but when it comes to everything needed to run a reasonable standard competition, none make the grade.

The ASA insists that for county championships a pool has to have electronic timing.

It also needs starting blocks, enough space around poolside for swimmers and officials, plenty of seats for spectators and plenty of parking.

The best the county can offer is the Quarry pool, but that fails to tick the boxes on parking and, thanks a massive flume down one side, poolside space.

Market Drayton did meet the requirements, until a private contractor took it over and built a wall to create a new fitness gym – in one fell swoop reducing the poolside space and cutting the electronic scoreboard off from the computer power supply.

Shropshire ASA has been forced to take the county championships out of the county to Wolverhampton Central Baths, but that is now under threat of closure as the city council looks to save cash.

And now the prospect of the outdated Quarry being demolished has been mooted again, attention has turned to just how to make sure any replacement pool can cater for competitive swimmers as well as those who just want to enjoy a fun splashabout.

A new Facebook page – Shropshire Needs a Competition Swimming Pool It Can Be Proud Of – has been set up for swimmers, coaches and parents to have their say, and swimming officials and club representatives plan to meet Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski to try to get his backing for a competition pool to replace the Quarry.

Parent Rachel Jenner-Leleux has even written to David Cameron to complain about the lack of provision for swimmers, although she's yet to get a reply.

Mrs Jenner-Leleux, whose two daughters swim for Wrekin College, says: "This is fast becoming a joke for our swimmers and the 'legacy' that David Cameron spoke about is being forgotten about as quickly as it took Usain Bolt to run down the track."

In her letter to the Prime Minster, she said: "You talked in great length about the legacy of London 2012 but it seems you are going to allow the closure of a fantastic leisure facility in the city centre of Wolverhampton.

"It is also very heavily used by swimming clubs all over the Midlands to hold competitive galas for thousands of children – your country's future Olympians.

"Children rely on these galas taking place at this pool as they cannot afford to travel any further, especially when they live in rural Shropshire."

And Yvonne Wedden, from Oakengates Swimming Club in Telford, adds: "Shropshire itself is without a pool of significance. If Wolverhampton Central Baths were to close I cannot think which pool would be able to accommodate the county championships.

"With the latest research on primary school children not being able to swim, it seems contradictory to close pools. Many of the new build pools do not seem to take competing into account – many are shallow or have no facility for diving blocks.

In this year of the Olympic legacy it is very sad that swimming clubs are being denied the ability to hold or attend competitive meets to allow our swimmers to develop to county, national and even European level without having to travel further and further away from their home clubs."

Maria Neeld, of Newport Swimming Club, adds: "What has happened to the Olympic legacy we heard so much about last year? We keep being reminded of the increase in childhood obesity, yet this is the solution."

Shropshire's competitive swimming clubs are Ellesmere College Titans, Ludlow, Market Drayton, Newport, Northgate Bridgnorth, Oakengates, Oswestry, Shrewsbury, The Court, Wellington, Whitchurch and Wrekin College.

Visit www.shropshireasa.co.uk

By Ann Clarkson

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