Most outdoor pools reopened this weekend. But that did not work equally well everywhere.
At times this weekend it’s hard to tell which is bluer: the water or the sky. The weekend starts and ends with it, but it will not get warmer than about 16 degrees.
“People are already sitting in the stands enjoying the sun out of the wind, but it is still too cold for 90 percent of the swimmers,” says Harry Huininga in the monumental swimming pool De Papiermolen, which has just reopened after work on the ring road. somewhat accessible.
The municipal swimming pool coordinator cannot grumble with the arrival of a few hundred visitors. Because the new access equipment has not yet been installed, an exact count is not available.
“But the first thirty were in line at the door on Saturday morning at 10 am.” As if everyone wants to be the first to be in the water? “You would say that, but we see that every day, throughout the season.”
24 or 25 degrees
Of the total of five pools at De Papiermolen, the two deepest, including the 50-metre pool, are heated. The water is 24 degrees. “You can bet that visitors will notice if we don’t make it. Half a degree less and there are already complaints.”
Because water was not allowed in the bath in Ten Boer until late due to an emergency repair, the temperature there was still disappointing. The board of open air pool De Blinkerd had warned against this. “Unfortunately it will take another week before the right temperature is reached in the deep bath.”
About a hundred visitors, who were allowed in for free on Saturday, were not deterred by it. The new paddling pool and the spray park will not open until mid-May.
Moekesgat
In swimming pool Moekesgat in Ter Apel few lap pullers reported, but children who had the greatest fun. ,,It immediately became old-fashioned”, says lifeguard Gerard Meesters (62) who starts his 43rd season with six colleagues. He will also give swimming lessons again, which the municipality outsourced for years.
The scoop of the first dive of the year in the outdoor pool was Friday for his colleague Bram. ,,To stir the water vigorously,” says Meesters. With a water temperature of 25.3 degrees, it clearly trumps its colleague in the city. “We heat up to more than 23 degrees. Heating elements on the roof have taken care of the rest for a few years now.”
In Winsum, swimming pool De Hoge Vier will soon also be made more sustainable in this way. But the work, combined with major maintenance on the roof, is not yet finished. The foundation tries to prevent nuisance for swimmers as much as possible.
Setback
Swimming pool De Kolck in Meeden was officially opened by alderman and local volunteer of the village council cooperative Markus Ploeger (including Finance, Municipal Interests). He couldn’t take a jump from the new diving board yet, because it won’t be installed until Monday. Ploeger stayed on dry land and hoisted a flag.
The reopening of the historic outdoor pool in Hoogkerk (1935), which was closed for three consecutive years (two years due to corona and last year due to a crack in the soil), is again delayed.
The damage has been repaired, but now the necessary painting turned out to be twice as expensive as expected and it was first postponed. Work may start this week if it stays dry. To be able to swim again in Hoogkerk in the summer, the municipality is still looking for volunteers, board members and swimming pool staff.