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Closed indoor pools, long waiting lists: How Corona slows down swimming courses

2021-06-01T09:48:54.052Z


Summer is approaching - and many children cannot swim. The waiting lists of the few providers in the region are long. And as long as the indoor swimming pools don't open again, the situation will only get worse.


Summer is approaching - and many children cannot swim.

The waiting lists of the few providers in the region are long.

And as long as the indoor swimming pools don't open again, the situation will only get worse.

District - An example from Diessen shows how big the concern is with parents that their child does not learn to swim or does not learn to swim in time.

A mother registered her only 15-month-old child there with the private swimming school "Schwidie" - looking far ahead for the year 2024. This is what Schwidie co-owner Anke von Butler tells us. And she says: “Nobody really has an eye on the subject, not even politicians.” She fears that the water rescue service will have more missions this summer than usual - because of the many young non-swimmers.

A survey of the few swimming course providers in the Fünfseenland shows: the waiting lists are shockingly long.

Many children have been waiting for a place since the beginning of the pandemic.

“We had to cancel 100 children last year,” reports Julia Volks, who organizes the courses at the water rescue service.

She remembers the last course in March 2020 well - because she had to cancel it after five out of ten units.

The BRK's “Swim You Strong” campaign, which offers free courses to children from low-income families, has also come to a standstill.

And demand in the district is generally high, says Volks: "Our books have been well filled for years."

The Starnberg Seebad was closed due to corona in March 2020

The Starnberg Seebad was closed due to corona in March 2020. Not only the water rescue service, but also the municipal swimming masters have not been able to practice there with beginners since then. They do not have a waiting list, this is “not expedient”, writes Marie Babst from the press office when asked. And the canceled courses could "not be made up for in terms of personnel or time." However, a new course program is planned, which will be more broadly based than the previous one with the help of external freelance workers. The courses should be bookable online.

Steffen Pilz, swimming instructor at Gautingen's summer pool, speaks of a “huge crowd”.

So far it has been too cold, but he wants to start with groups of six soon.

He had around 50 registrations by June 11th alone.

This week Pilz gave a private course to three children.

For him, it is above all about conveying security - "so that they do not fall into paralysis when they are pushed in".

Swimming instructor: “A whole year is missing.

We have to do something "

The “Schwidie” swimming school in Dießen recorded 120 inquiries up to April this year and then came to the conclusion: “A whole year is missing. We have to do something, ”says Anke von Butler. That is why she and her colleague are now offering one-to-one tuition, which is a bit more expensive, but for parents who can put their children in the car for 45 minutes. It will take a long time to process the large number of inquiries. So that her protégés learn quickly and efficiently, she gives them homework. You train motion sequences in the dry. The parents are asked to help, says von Butler. "As long as the children cannot swim, going for a swim is pure stress." In order to at least satisfy the great demand, von Butler has an idea: "Someone or the other could make their private pool available."

District Administrator Stefan Frey recently applied to the Bavarian State Government for permission to open the indoor swimming pools, especially for school sports (see "Corona situation"). An answer is still pending. The Starnberg Seebad, next to the Pöckinger the only indoor swimming pool in the district, is in great demand when it comes to teaching. Ten schools and up to ten clubs used the pools before Corona regularly, according to the city.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-06-01

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