Olympic 200 fly bronze medallist Steve Parry has described as “quite depressing” the prospect of swimming pools being closed again in England during the upcoming national lockdown.
Prime minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday that a four-week lockdown in England will begin in the early hours of Thursday 5 November and last until Wednesday 2 December during which time all indoor leisure facilities will be forced to close.
It follows the sharp rise in coronavirus cases across England and means all gyms and leisure centres will be closed.
Swim England CEO Jane Nickerson has questioned the reasons behind the closure given the data does not appear to support such an approach while asking that swimming be redefined as essential.
Many past and present swimmers including double Olympic silver medallist Jazz Carlin and two-time Beijing 2008 champion Becky Adlington have been vocal in response while Swim England has urged people to sign an open letter to Johnson requesting the pools remain open.
Parry – who was third at the Games in Athens in 2004 – fears more pools will be lost as a result of the lockdown and argues people swimming in Covid-secure environments is key to maintaining the physical and mental health of the nation – something he believes should be a priority in the current climate.
He said in an interview with BBC Breakfast News:
“The whole thing around grassroots sport is quite stark and quite depressing.
“Just to shut down all activity, especially at grassroots level again, will definitely have some impact.
“Swimming in particular, we are going to lose so many community facilities.
“It’s not an easy thing to shut down and start back up again. We’ve already had a number of pools that chose to stay closed after those first four months and I fear every time we go into lockdown, we are going to end up with facilities just disappearing forever.
“I hear all the time the Government saying we have to follow the science and I never understood the first time around why gyms and swimming pools were at the back of the queue when opening back up.
“The incidence of infections we have seen through ukactive studies and Sport England have shown that there are less than three infections per 100,000 people that visit gyms and leisure centres.
“Let’s take swimming in particular. People are turning up beach ready, having limited interactions in a Covid-secure environment and then swimming in chlorine.
“We know that chlorine reduces the chance of infections being transmitted. People want to be safe and being in a chlorinated pool is one of the safest environments you can be in.”
Photo Courtesy: Swim England
He added:
“I understand the argument that we have to hit coronavirus head-on but we also need to not throw everything out when it comes to doing activities that are safe.
“The Government talks about us being healthy and that’s absolutely the right message but we’re also going to struggle with coronavirus and other health conditions if we don’t prioritise being active and being healthy.
“We also need to think about what happens in six months and a year from now.
“Although the next month is really important and we have to get the R rate down, I’m also asking questions around what our activity levels and the health of the nation looks like six months from now?
“I just get frustrated when I see swimming and other sports at the back of the queue when the evidence suggests that they are safe.”
Speedo Adds Its Support To Campaign
Photo Courtesy: Speedo twitter
Swimwear brand Speedo is also supporting the #OpenOurPools campaign ahead of the vote on the second lockdown in the House of Commons before it comes into force in the early hours of Thursday.
A spokesman said:
“Speedo UK wholeheartedly supports the #OpenOurPools campaign and is urging the UK Government to please consider the physical and mental wellbeing of the swimming community when debating this issue.
“Whilst we applaud the continued efforts to try and prevent the spread of Covid-19, we believe that venues have adapted superbly since being allowed to initially re-open.
“Swimming is vital to the health and wellbeing of millions of adults in Britain and can help to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression in what are undoubtedly tough times. As the nights continue to draw in, exercising regularly outdoors becomes more difficult and so we are also calling on the Government to reverse its decision to close swimming pools so that swimmers all over the country can continue to reap the benefits of being in the water.”
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Thank you Steve Perry and thank you Speedo!!!