Children in Hanover freeze in swimming courses
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Low temperatures: Children in Hanover freeze in swimming courses
Too cold for little swimmers: During the swimming courses in the stadium pool, children complain about the water temperatures being too low.
© Source: Rainer Drose
Hanover. The children are trembling, have blue lips – and prefer not to go into the water at all: Ever since the water temperatures in Hanover’s municipal indoor swimming pools were lowered to save energy, complaints about the facilities have increased. This is confirmed by Udo Möller, the city’s press spokesman. “The local colleagues report that the children freeze faster and that there are also parents who complain directly in the bathroom,” he says. Under the current conditions, swimming lessons for the little ones are no longer fun, an affected father also complains to this newspaper. “The children certainly don’t learn to swim well that way,” he says.
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The city’s austerity program is ambitious
The city’s ambitious savings program leaves its mark as early as mid-October. At the start of the winter season, the pools decided to lower the temperatures in their pools. The water is now 25 degrees warm – one degree colder than in the past. In the showers, the swimming pools even reduced the temperature from 37 to 31 degrees. The city hopes to save up to 25 percent of the total energy consumption.
In the municipal indoor swimming pools in Hanover, including the Stadionbad, the water temperatures were lowered for the winter season.
© Source: Rainer Drose
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The Waspo sees the development critically
Bernd Seidensticker, President of the Waspo water sports club, is dissatisfied with the children’s current situation. For him, swimming is part of child development. “The children have to learn to swim. For me, it’s on the same level as reading and writing,” he says. It is therefore incomprehensible that the children are the first to make cutbacks. “That’s simply saving in the wrong corner,” says Seidensticker.
What’s next in winter?
According to Seidensticker, it is worrying that the children are already complaining about problems with the municipal pools. This does not allow any positive forecasts for the winter. A further aggravation of the situation could also have direct consequences for the water sports club. “If the water is too cold, there is the option of curbing the swimming courses,” says Seidensticker. Of course, the further feedback from the children is decisive for this. However, if they increasingly stay away from swimming lessons, the swimming club must re-evaluate the situation. Also from a financial point of view: “The offers must also pay off,” says Seidensticker.
Waspo would like to respond to complaints
According to Seidensticker, his club has not yet received any complaints. If that changes over the course of the winter, he wants to seek talks with the city. He sees the basic requirements for swimming for children in danger. “when the children are freezing, it’s too cold,” he states matter-of-factly. This makes the swimming courses difficult to carry out.
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Unsafe winter: Can swimming courses be maintained even when the water temperatures are low?
© Source: Fabian Sommer/dpa
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Lifting the current measures is not conceivable
Despite the local complaints, the city wants to stick to the energy-saving plans. Möller rules out lifting the measures over the course of the winter. “Due to the ongoing threat of energy shortages, we currently see no way of raising the water temperature back to the old level,” he says. He hopes for the cooperation of parents and clubs. “The current challenging times require all of us to lower our standards and exercise restraint.”
By Jasper Bennink