Free swimming for children
Children aged 16 and under will be able to swim for free at East Hampshire District Council's Leisure Centres in Alton and Bordon.
The government-backed scheme will give youngsters the chance to take the plunge free of charge as part of a bid to get kids active and healthy.
Alton Leisure Centre and Mill Chase Leisure Centre can both take advantage of this national offer but the Taro Leisure Centre, in Petersfield, is not included due to government rules on the types of pools allowed to take part.
The Taro's pool is categorized as a ‘leisure' pool, due to its flumes and other facilities, and is therefore exempt from the scheme whereas Alton and Mill Chase have traditional 25 metre pools. The free swimming is paid for by the government and administered by DC Leisure, the company that manages the district's three leisure centres, the scheme will run from October 1 until March 2011 at which time the government will decide if it can continue.
In April a similar programme for over 60s was introduced allowing them to swim for free in all three of the district's pools. The offer has been a great success and by August there had been a 66 per cent increase in swimmers of that age group.
Councillor Jennifer Gray, Portfolio Holder for Lifestyles & Community, said: "East Hampshire District Council works hard to try and get young people fit and healthy and there's no better form of exercising than swimming. It's fantastic our officers and DC Leisure have been able to negotiate this 18-month deal and we hope the government sees fit to continue funding the scheme after that."
Alan Elliott, Contract Manager for DC Leisure said: "We at DC Leisure are delighted to be part of this scheme which will hopefully enable more under 16s to enjoy the great facilities that East Hampshire offers. We hope the offer of free swimming will encourage more children to be more active, more often."
Members of the Taro Leisure Centre's Swim Academy can swim for free while weekends are run for children to swim free when accompanied by an adult.
For more information contact Alton Leisure Centre 01420 540040 or Mill Chase Leisure Centre 01420 472549.
Added on: 28/09/09. Views: 689
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