The future of the Ashburton Swim Team is uncertain after being thrown in the deep end by the council.
The Ashburton District Council is proposing to stop providing a squad swimming programme at the end of June, following a review of its operation, cost, and the council’s future role.
Chief executive Hamish Riach said the council is proposing to no longer employ coaches for a squad training programme.
“While this is a change to what we have done for the past 10 years, we believe swimming should be treated like other sports that use council facilities in the district, in that council provides the venue and the sports manage coaching,” Riach said.
“We acknowledge that means uncertainty for some of our swimmers and the Ashburton Swim Team, but it does open the door for another provider to offer professional coaching services.”
The council first met with the Ashburton Swim Team in 2023, indicating its desire to move away from directly delivering the coaching services.
Ashburton Swim Team secretary Samantha Bentley said the council’s proposal announcement “came unexpectedly to us, the same day it was released to the public”.
“As a result, we require time to fully process the implications of this decision and to understand how it may or may not look moving forward.”
Asked what the proposal will mean for the future of the team, Bentley said they did not want to speculate until they had time to review the situation and assess the impacts.
“The well-being of our club members is foremost in our considerations, and it would be inappropriate to proceed without properly assessing how this decision may impact them.”
There are currently 59 squad swimmers aged between 10 and 17.
Around $50,000 of rates has been subsidising the wage costs of this programme over the past three years.
Riach said recent changes to the programme had improved its financial sustainability, so with a different operating model, it could be a rewarding business opportunity.
He said ideally an external provider, private business, or the swim team itself would step up run the squad programme, and there had been an expression of interest already.
Ashburton council is happy to negotiate discounted rates to use the pool.
“The district has grown some talented swimmers over the years who have competed at regional and national levels, and no doubt there’ll be more.”
The council is currently talking with the swim squad coaching staff about the proposed change, including potential redeployment or other employment options, and inviting swim team members and their families, and the wider public, to give feedback on the change.
It is proposed that the council-run squad programme ends on June 28, or sooner if another provider emerges or the council is no longer able to provide the service.
Feedback on the proposal closes February 13.
The proposal does not impact the learn-to-swim programme at EA Networks Centre.
“We remain committed to our learn-to-swim programme, which involves teaching water safety and the basics of swimming to about 1000 youngsters a term.”
