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Swimming pool closures key to drop in swimming standards
Mixing dogs and pools
Council mulls over swimming pool site
Swimming pool at Harrisburg's Hall Manor apartments closed indefinitely
Cats and pools
Woman found dead in backyard swimming pool in Arlington

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Swimming pool closures key to drop in swimming standards

2012-06-27 Ames County Pool Service news

The closure of more than three hundred public swimming pools in the last 18 months has been blamed as one of a number of reasons why more than one in three primary school leavers do not have the basic swimming skills to save their lives, a report has found. It estimated more than 200,000 11-year-olds have not mastered basic survival techniques, such as floating, despite swimming being compulsory for children aged seven to 11. Pupils leaving primary school should be able to swim unaided for 25 metres. However, on average 36.5% of children in 2,577 English primary schools did not achieve the required level by the end of last year, according to the report by Kellogg's and the Amateur Swimming Association. And a separate Kellogg's survey found that 46% of parents with children aged six to 11 admitted their child couldn't swim. The report blamed rising costs, overloaded school timetables and in particular pool closures all over the UK which have taken the opportunity to swim away from hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren. "It is clear there has been a trend of too many pool closing either through financial restrictions or just old age. It is important to save more of these pools which need refurbishment rather than see them disappear for ever. Too many communities have lost their pools they badly need." The Amateur Swimming Association and Kellogg's has called on the Government to prioritise the sport "so every child has the opportunity to learn to swim irrespective of socio-economic and ethnic background". They have launched a six-point school swimming manifesto which includes urging head teachers not to close existing pools; Ofsted monitoring swimming as part of inspections; the improvement of water safety training for primary teachers and support for secondary school pupils who cannot swim. During Key Stage Two (ages seven to 11), swimming and water safety is a compulsory part of the national curriculum. By the age of 11, pupils should be able to "pace themselves in floating and swimming challenges related to speed, distance and personal survival" as well as swim unaided for a distance "of at least 25 metres". However, data obtained by Kelloggs under the Freedom of Information Act discovered that only 35 out of 85 councils in England which responded to the survey actually held swimming records. David Walker, RoSPA's Leisure Safety Manager, said: "We are concerned to see that so many children are struggling to swim at an acceptable standard." Drowning is the third most common cause of accidental death among children in England. Department for Education spokesman said: "Swimming is a compulsory part of the National Curriculum, and all primary schools have a duty to provide swimming lessons for their pupils. We would expect that schools would take the needs of their children into account in making all decisions.

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Mixing dogs and pools

2012-09-12 Ames County Pool Service news

It seems that more and more pool owners are using their pools to walk their dogs.

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Council mulls over swimming pool site

2012-06-25 Ames County Pool Service news

A NEW swimming pool could be built in the north of the city as the council grapples with a shake-up of the service. Worcester City Council chiefs will be asked to favour building a new 25-metre pool and gym at Perdiswell, after consultants drew up options to keep public swimming baths in the city for the future. We previously reported the site was among eight locations being considered in April. At a council scrutiny meeting, councillors were told the "preferred option" was being presented to cabinet, alongside several other choices, for a decision on Wednesday. If an option is agreed, a public consultation will follow by autumn. But the specification, the cost - estimated to be at least £10 million - and how that money will be found will only really be known "once the detailed business case" is produced following the public consultation, said the council's corporate services director Ruth Mullen. "That next stage will deal with the detailed modelling, specification and the funding options, which will be a huge tranche, to look at how we will fund this." It is not yet known if the centre would be leased to an operator or managed on behalf of the city council. NOW

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Swimming pool at Harrisburg's Hall Manor apartments closed indefinitely

2012-06-28 Ames County Pool Service news

The swimming pool at the Hall Manor apartments in Harrisburg, refuge for up to 100 children on summer days, will be closed indefinitely while officials determine how to fix a costly leak.
The Rev. Brenda Alton, director of the Parks, Education and Enrichment Department, told City Council on Tuesday night that the city and Boys and Girls Clubs will help transport swimmers from Hall Manor to the
pool at Jackson Lick apartments on Sixth Street. The Hall Manor pool's excessive water costs of $40,000 last year hinted at a leak somewhere, Alton said. Volunteer consultants determined that the pool's foundation is inadequate and must be rebuilt. Transforming the space into a "splash pool" with slides and other features is a possibility, but donors would have to finance any
upgrades, because the city will halt all parks and recreation funding after this year, she said. The Jackson-Lick pool will be open Tuesdays through Sundays, beginning Saturday. Pool passes can be obtained at the Parks, Education and Enrichment Department in City Hall, or by registering at www.harrisburgrec.com. Registrants will get information on transportation from Hall Manor to Jackson Lick, Alton said.

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Cats and pools

2012-09-12 Ames County Pool Service news

More and more pool owners are reporting that cats are using pools to take baths.

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Woman found dead in backyard swimming pool in Arlington

2012-06-26 Ames County Pool Service news

A woman was found dead Thursday morning in a backyard swimming pool in north Arlington, a fire official said. The victim believed to be in her 70s was discovered shortly after 9 a.m. at a home in the 500 block of Eldoro Drive. Authorities had not released her name. A landscape worker found the woman's body in the pool, Arlington fire Lt. Kevin Seeton said. Neighbors told authorities that they saw the woman on Wednesday, but no one was sure how long she may have been in the water. A ruling on her death is pending an autopsy by the Tarrant County medical examiner's office. today

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