Club urges city to reconsider Kardinia Pool arrangement

A MOVE to close Kardinia Aquatic Centre during winter would be a “dreamkiller” for aspiring Geelong athletes, according to a local swimming club.

The City of Greater Geelong would return the facility to seasonal in its proposed 2023-24 budget as it searches for savings.

COGG had provided extra funding for the pool to stay open during winter since 2020 when the pandemic limited capacity of indoor pools.

Geelong Swimming Club members use the facility six days a week for training and believe the closure of the facility during winter would be detrimental to leisurely users and local athletes targeting elite competition.

A public petition against the proposed change is circulating online and was approaching 2,000 signatures early this week.

Geelong Swimming Club said it had enjoyed a wave of momentum in recent years with access to a year-round facility that had swelled further with the announcement of 2026 Commonwealth Games swimming coming to the region.

President Glenn Benson said local athletes would “not get a crack at their dreams” if the Kardinia pool would be closed for a portion of the year.

“It’s very disappointing.

“Labor got in and chose to allocate a new pool to Armstrong Creek to keep Kardinia open for all users and now we’ve been knocked on the head with these closures.

“It’s an irony in one sense, and in the other it’s just a complete lack of understanding of what is required for youngsters who are striving to achieve their swimming goals.

“The pool is central to what we do.”

Mr Benson said a move away from the pool would have many negative effects on the Geelong Swimming Club moving forward, meaning they would have to “rationalise their operations completely”.

“It would throw a huge spanner in the works.

“We would have to find alternate facilities that are indoor, however there are different physiological adaptions that occur in a 50-metre pool as opposed to a 25-metre pool elsewhere.

“There is also a huge cost impact and thirdly, there are availability issues, meaning we wouldn’t be able to train the kids nearly as much.”

Mr Benson said year-round access had allowed swimmers to reach levels needed for elite competition, including at race meets in Europe and world championship trials.

COGG said that each swim at Kardinia Aquatic Centre during winter cost its budget $22.50, based on attendance and running costs.

Reduced pool hours are just one of dozens of initiatives or projects impacted by cost cutting in its proposed budget.

“This budget must be financially responsible while protecting as much of our core service delivery as possible,” Mayor Trent Sullivan said.

Geelong Swimming Club and other user groups will host a ‘Community Swim In’ event this Saturday to “show the City how much of an asset the Kardinia Pool is”.

People expected to attend include Olympic medallist and Commonwealth Games captain Peter Doak OAM and freestyle world record holder Tony Strahan, who are also life members at the Geelong Swimming Club.

All local people are invited to take part in the proceedings which will kick off at 10:30am.