Despite low occupancy, the covered stadium swimming pool is only used by competitive athletes in winter – the Vienna People’s Party is calling for it to be opened for swimming lessons
Vienna (OTS) – With the impending start of the swimming season in May, an urgent problem is coming into focus: the problem of the limited use of swimming facilities in both the stadium pool and the city hall pool. Despite available capacities, access remains very limited, as discussed in today’s article in the daily newspaper “Der Standard”.
“The casing of the sports pool in the cold season is a welcome addition to the sports offering in Vienna. However, the regulation that the pool can only be used by competitive athletes is incomprehensible,” said the sports spokeswoman for the Vienna People’s Party, local councilor Bernadette Arnoldner. “The stadium swimming pool is not only closed to the public in winter, but is also only open for top-class sport from October to March. In April it is completely closed. Of course, the conversion from an indoor to an outdoor pool takes some time, but a month is already very generous.”
Local councilor Julia Klika, swimming pool spokeswoman for the Vienna People’s Party, also criticizes the winter use only for top athletes. “It is important that original summer pools for competitive sports can also be used in winter. But the stadium pool should also be opened to school classes on an hourly basis – I doubt that the sports pool will be at full capacity all day every weekday.”
According to the “Standard”, the bathroom is empty for hours on many days. Experts also criticize that there is often a lack of will in Vienna. If you really wanted to, you could of course open the stadium pool to schools or masters swimmers or even in general at certain times. It sits empty for hours on many days, according to a quote from the article mentioned. “This urgently needs to change and the stadium pool and the city hall pool must be opened at least for swimming lessons for school classes in winter,” conclude Arnoldner and Klika.
Questions & Contact:
The Vienna People’s Party Press & Communication 01/515 43 230 presse@wien.oevp.at
