The community of Tubbercurry and the wider region is looking forward with great excitement to the opportunity to enjoy swimming indoors right in their community with the recent announcement of plans for the arrival of a Swim Ireland Pop-Up Pool in Autumn.
Pop Up Pool for Tubbercurry
Pop-Up Pool for Tubbercurry
Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership with support from Sligo County Council are delighted to link with Swim Ireland to introduce this innovative solution for an area with no swimming pool with Tubbercurry set to benefit from the mobile Pop-Up Pool for three months.
The Pop-Up Pool is a 12m x 3.4m steel structure which holds 45,000 litres of water and is heated to a balmy 30 degrees. The pool is sheltered from the elements in a hard sided and heated marquee with changing rooms onsite an inclusive ramp and hoist.
It will provide an ideal place to learn to swim, develop swimming skills or just to enjoy how great it feels to relax and dip your head in the water. Opportunities are endless and will include school swimming programmes, evening and weekend swimming lessons, community group sessions and private hire over a 12-week period.
Cathaoirleach of Sligo County Council Councillor Michael Clarke noted
“This is a great opportunity for Tubbercurry and wider south Sligo area to have the opportunity to host this pool in a rural location outside the urban centre of Sligo Town.”
Minister of State for Sport and the Gaeltacht Jack Chambers commented
“The Pop-Up Pool programme is a fantastic initiative focussed on bringing swimming into the heart of the community and making swimming as accessible as possible for more people. The Pop-Up pool in Dublin Fingal has been incredibly popular and I am delighted the scheme is now being extended to Sligo. This will help get more physically active and to lead healthier lives. Swimming is also an important life-skill and the Pop-Up Pool will help to equip more people of all ages to be safe in the water.”
Also speaking at the announcement Emer Concannon, Acting Director of Service Sligo County Council and Chairperson of Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership stated
‘This is a really novel way of delivering swimming opportunities in communities. Delivering new permanent swimming pools can be costly and take considerable time and this new “pop-up” facility provides an excellent solution by delivering swimming opportunities at a relatively low cost. I want to thank Swim Ireland for having the vision to consider such an innovative project and locally to acknowledge the work of Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership who have worked in partnership with Sligo County Council to bring the Pop-Up Pool to Tubbercurry.’
Swim Ireland CEO Sarah Keane said
“We are delighted to bring the Pop-Up Pool to Tubbercurry. At Swim Ireland our vision is for ‘An Island of Swimmers’ and we hope that by bringing the Pop-Up Pool to the people, that we can teach thousands to swim and give them the experience and opportunity to see swimming as a skill and something they can participate in across all life stages. We also see the pop-up pool as a first step in supporting the development of the National Swimming Strategy, a major part of which will focus on swimming infrastructure indoors and outdoors.” We are delighted to be working with Sligo Local Sports Partnership and Sligo County Council and we would also like to thank the OPW for allowing us to use their land in the centre of Tubbercurry which enables us to locate the pool in the centre of the population.”
Swim Irelands Head of Participation Ashley Hunter added
“We have been working to bring the Pop-Up Pool to Tubbercurry for the past six months and I am delighted that the pool will soon be open. Tubbercurry was identified as the next location for the Pop-up Pool based on the population, the number of schools and the number of community groups and on the enthusiasm of the local community. We have been engaging with the schools and community groups and we anticipate that we will provide close 700 swimming opportunities per week.”
Deirdre Lavin, Sports Co ordinator SSRP stated:
“This is an innovative approach towards getting people of all ages and all abilities to swim and to develop their confidence in the water, and it is particularly welcome in the rural community of Tubbercurry where people have always had to travel long distances to access a pool. In making it happen I wish to acknowledge Swim Ireland in offering SSRP the opportunity to be the first to experience the Pop-Up Pool outside of Dublin while locally the support from Sligo County Council and the community of Tubbercurry including the Office of Public works and the Garda Siochana Sligo has ensured the Pop Up Pool is becoming a reality.”
Speaking on behalf of Sport Ireland, CEO Dr, Una May said
“This is a fantastic collaborative initiative by Swim Ireland and Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership who are working locally with Sligo County Council to bring the pool to the rural community of Tubbercurry. It will provide a fantastic opportunity for everyone to get involved in swimming, regardless of their ability or experience in the pool. On behalf of Sport Ireland, I wish Swim Ireland and everyone in Sligo involved in this very exciting initiative many hours of enjoyment in the Pop-Up Pool this Autumn.
The Pop-up Pool is operated by Swim Ireland. It is indoors, heated, fully equipped, fully accessible and has changing facilities. There are lifeguards and swim teachers on duty and the pool has capacity for 16 children and 12 adults. Bookings for the pool can be made on the Swim Ireland website Me and the Water | Swim Ireland. Bookings open in the next few weeks and there will be options for Schools, Community Groups, Learn to Swim and Aqua Aerobics, we anticipate demand to be high so book early to avoid missing out.”
For further information check www.sligosportandrecreation.ie and www.swimireland.ie