Just about everyone who matters in the sector signed an open letter – Save the swimming – on the initiative of the Netwerk Lokaal Sportbeleid, an organization that supports municipalities in their sports policy, among other things. In it they denounce the problem of the shortage of lifeguards and the declining number of swimming pools in Flanders. Bodies such as Catholic Education Flanders and research groups of KU Leuven and VUB also signed the letter.
It is especially school swimming that worries experts: it is becoming increasingly difficult for children to learn to swim. School swimming is under pressure due to rising costs, and waiting lists at swimming clubs are also lengthy.
The swimming world is calling for a master plan to turn the tide. It is a crisis that is too big to be left to the local level alone.