Leisureland warned it could lose water sports clubs

A Board member of Leisureland has warned that competitive rates must be offered to the clubs which use the swimming pool once it reopens or otherwise risk losing what, financially, has been the lifeblood of the facility.

Indeed, Swim Ireland’s regional Club Support Officer for Connacht, Vincent Finn, who was elected to the Board of Leisureland as the swimming and water polo clubs representative last month, believes that with the date for Leisureland reopening gone back to December, it could possibly result in some of those clubs setting up permanent homes at privately-owned pools.

Originally, Leisureland, forced to close due to the damage caused by severe flooding last Winter, was scheduled to reopen in September – and later October – but various problems, including a disagreement with the insurance company over the re-tiling of the facility, was the reason behind the delay.

Mr. Finn noted this has caused further problems for the clubs which have already taken a massive financial hit after losing their revenue stream from teaching classes. “The [swimming] season starts on September 1 so you are still talking about a third of the season gone from a teaching point of view, from an income point of view and from a pool point of view once it reopens.

“So, it will be interesting to see whether clubs come back en masse to Leisureland or if they establish relationships where they are. We will see what happens. Despite what some people might think, the clubs are the lifeblood of Leisureland and they are the reason why Leisureland is still open.”

He explained Leisureland received a huge amount of its income from the local swimming and water polo clubs but he expressed his deep satisfaction at the exorbitant rates these clubs had been charged by Galway City Council over the past decade. He said it was time to address these charges.

“This will be something I will be standing up against because the fees charged in Leisureland are extremely high compared to any other pool in Ireland. I know this will cause trouble but I am putting it on record anyway.

“The standard pool rate throughout Ireland is between €15 and €18 per lane per hour, with some pools being even cheaper than that. The rate in Leisureland is €30 per lane per hour and it has been for the last 10 years.

“So, my job on the board is to find out, with rates at these levels, why Leisureland is losing money and yet other facilities of a similar nature don’t seem to have that problem while charging cheaper rates,” said Finn, alluding to the mounting losses incurred by Leisureland in recent years.

In late 2012, a Government audit found that the cost of the pool, gym and conference complex to the local authority the previous year was €683,000 – six times greater than the budget approved by the council at the start of the year. That was a 30% increase on the previous year’s deficit of €524,168.

Consequently, Mr. Finn said it was critical that Leisureland put a strategic plan in place to turn around the financial shortfalls but warned it would be detrimental to the existence of the swimming clubs – and by extension the facility itself – to ask them to pick up the tab. A balance must be struck.

“While clubs are in the water, Leisureland doesn’t lose money – Leisureland makes money – and that is very important. They have to understand that. Leisureland is also a very important infrastructure for the public, not just from a tourism point of view but from a leisure and a learning to swim point of view.”

From his work on the ground with clubs, the Support Officer highlighted that since the closing of Leisureland, the local clubs – Sharks, Laser and Galway – had found it extremely difficult to survive. “The loss of Leisureland has had a huge impact on the three clubs, Laser, Sharks and Galway,” he pointed out.

“The first thing was they lost their pool time; so, they had to scramble for pool time everywhere. In fairness to the Kingfisher – both NUIG and Renmore – they have been extremely good to all three clubs, particularly NUIG. I can’t say enough good words about what they have done.

“So, the clubs have managed to get pool time but it meant a lot of early mornings and more stress on the parents. However, it’s a double-edged sword because, while the clubs have managed to survive, they have had to do so without the income they generated from the teaching classes.”

He outlined all three clubs, which in total cater for 1,500 children, would have run teaching classes in Leisureland, from which they generated an income that they put back into paying for their pool time and coaches. “Now, many of the clubs are running raffles, quizzes and dog nights in order to raise the funds necessary to stay alive.”

Mr. Finn detailed that the closing of Leisureland also had another serious implication for the city’s three clubs. “About 90% of the swimmers the clubs have would come through their teaching programme and they would be taught in a certain way so when they got into competitive swimming, they would be ready for it.

“So, there would be a structured pathway which would teach them to swim properly and they wouldn’t progress from one stage to the next until they could achieve the standard that was required. That is not there now so there is going to be a void of a year where you don’t have swimmers at that level.”

At any rate, he hoped the affinity those clubs had with Leisureland would see their return – “Leisureland was their base and they almost feel homeless without it” – but he warned that the clubs should not be taken for granted.

In this respect, he was critical of the lack of consultation between Galway City Council and the clubs regarding Leisureland’s refurbishment and he has now called for transparency, particularly in relation to rates, going forward.