Ballarat Swimming Club backs YMCA pool management

Ballarat Gold Swimming Club President Anthony Hoffmann has come out in support of the YMCA's management of the City's Eureka Pool.

Hoffmann told Ballarat newspaper The Courier this week that it was "business as usual" for the club at the pool - the City of Ballarat having controversially handed over management of to the facility to the YMCA in December after 39 years of management by local pool operators the McKenzie family.

Hoffmann told The Courier "the people from the YMCA, in particular Mal Healy (Ballarat YMCA Chief Executive), have bent over backwards to not only support our club in its training requirements but also supply a quality venue for recreational swimming as well.

"Our club currently has eight training sessions a week, with five being at the Eureka Pool. It's great to see the Eureka Pool back in action and we, as a club, look forward to the continued support from the YMCA."

Mal Healy said it had been a smooth transition and a successful summer so far at the Eureka Pool, adding "it's been really great. We've had a really busy summer with 10 or 11 days over 30 degrees.

"We're working really well with the swim clubs and last week we had 250 to 300 kids enjoying free swimming lessons, and that was hugely successful."

Healy added that the the pool was also booked out through Febraury with competitions and school events.

However, scrutiny of the pool's management has been heightened since the management change, with a recent three hour closure to the Eureka Pool's 25 metre pool for filtration needs being wideleyy reported.

Healy told The Courier that it was disappointing one pool opening a few hours late had been blown out of proportion, stating "there's been hundreds of people using the 25 metre pool, it's a really clean pool (and this) was just an operational issue."

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