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● There are 1,200 registered competitive swimmers across Karnataka
● 50 registered centres across the state
● Maintaining a 25-meter-long pool costs RS.1,50,000 to RS.2,00,000
● Refilling a pool costs RS.1,00,000 for six lakh litres of water
● There are over 500 public-use pools in Bengaluru
(according to a study)
Besides being an IT hub, Bengaluru is also known as the swimming capital of the country. It is home to two of the country’s top coaches — Pradeep Kumar and Nihar Ameen — who have trained hundreds of national and international swimmers. In addition, nine Olympic swimmers from India were trained in the city. And yet, when Unlock 4.0 guidelines were released by the Ministry of Home Affairs, swimming pools were still not allowed to open.
COACHES AND POOL OPERATORS STRUGGLE TO STAY AFLOAT
“It is the only sport that is not allowed by the government to function. Even gyms and other close contact sports have been allowed to open,” says Arjuna Awardee and former Olympian swimmer Nisha Millet, who adds that with six months of zero income, it has been a tough ride. “I run two pools in the city and they were drained, scrubbed and cleaned recently, as it was too expensive to pay electricity and maintenance bills for the past six months,” she says.
Besides Nisha, there are other coaches who are struggling to stay afloat. Ekalavya Awardee and senior swimming coach for competitive swimmers, Shreesh Reddy says, “If we open up, we will take precautions. If other countries are operating with one or two swimmers per lane, we are also willing to follow all guidelines.” Shreesh has also penned an emotional note on PM Modi’s Mann
Ki Baat app and has received an acknowledgement from his office.
BUT IS SWIMMING SAFE DURING THE PANDEMIC?
In answer to that, Shreesh says, “Nowhere has it been proved that the virus spreads in water. In fact, the chlorine in the pool water will neutralise the virus.” Adding to this, Nisha points out that swimming is good for the lungs, and keeping the lungs healthy is important
now. Talking about the importance of teaching swimming, a spokesperson from Swimming Matters says, “Swimming is a life-saving skill and by not being able to teach people to swim, we are putting that many people at risk. Furthermore, drowning is the second highest preventable cause of death in India after road accidents. And with coaches not being able to teach,many are losing that touch with water.”
COMPETITIVE SWIMMERS TAKE A HIT
The Swimming Matters spokesperson adds that aquatics is one of the biggest sports at the Olympics in terms of medal count. “Forty nine gold medals at the games include swimming, diving, water polo, synchronised swimming and open water swimming.The tally touches close to 100, if we are to include other activities related to the sports,” she says. Shreesh adds that because of the pandemic, the student population at his academy has reduced by 25%. “It takes three to four years to train a competitive swimmer. I am an Ekalavya awardee and it took me 20 years to get to my peak. Now, with the 2020 pandemic,we have already lost swimmers who were in the system for three to four years. Every single day that you do not swim, you have to slog for three to four days to make up for it. This worries me,” he says.
KARNATAKA SWIMMING ASSOCIATION AWAITS A GREEN SIGNAL
Despite the Karnataka Swimming Association (KSA) trying to push for the cause, there seems to be no respite. “Training has started everywhere including Dubai and Sri Lanka and nowhere has a COVID-19 case been reported. Our request to permit at least 20
pools which would be supervised by KSA following all SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) has also not been given a green signal. All studies and case studies have been submitted, but we are yet to convince the Centre,” says M Satish Kumar, secretary, KSA.
EXPECTATIONS OF SWIMMERS
An ongoing survey by Swimming Matters, has so far covered over 200 participants from across 20 plus cities. The participants included competitive swimmers, recreational swimmers and parents of swimmers. The survey reveals…
● 75% believe swimming pools are safe
● 72% will start swimming as soon as pools open
● 55% can pay a marginally higher fee to cover costs of sanitisation and social distancing measures
Swimming training has started everywhere including Dubai and Sri Lanka and no COVID-19 case has been reported. We are yet to get a green signal here
— M Satish Kumar, Secretary, Karnataka Swimming Association
● 50 registered centres across the state
● Maintaining a 25-meter-long pool costs RS.1,50,000 to RS.2,00,000
● Refilling a pool costs RS.1,00,000 for six lakh litres of water
● There are over 500 public-use pools in Bengaluru
(according to a study)
Besides being an IT hub, Bengaluru is also known as the swimming capital of the country. It is home to two of the country’s top coaches — Pradeep Kumar and Nihar Ameen — who have trained hundreds of national and international swimmers. In addition, nine Olympic swimmers from India were trained in the city. And yet, when Unlock 4.0 guidelines were released by the Ministry of Home Affairs, swimming pools were still not allowed to open.
COACHES AND POOL OPERATORS STRUGGLE TO STAY AFLOAT
“It is the only sport that is not allowed by the government to function. Even gyms and other close contact sports have been allowed to open,” says Arjuna Awardee and former Olympian swimmer Nisha Millet, who adds that with six months of zero income, it has been a tough ride. “I run two pools in the city and they were drained, scrubbed and cleaned recently, as it was too expensive to pay electricity and maintenance bills for the past six months,” she says.
Besides Nisha, there are other coaches who are struggling to stay afloat. Ekalavya Awardee and senior swimming coach for competitive swimmers, Shreesh Reddy says, “If we open up, we will take precautions. If other countries are operating with one or two swimmers per lane, we are also willing to follow all guidelines.” Shreesh has also penned an emotional note on PM Modi’s Mann
Ki Baat app and has received an acknowledgement from his office.
BUT IS SWIMMING SAFE DURING THE PANDEMIC?
In answer to that, Shreesh says, “Nowhere has it been proved that the virus spreads in water. In fact, the chlorine in the pool water will neutralise the virus.” Adding to this, Nisha points out that swimming is good for the lungs, and keeping the lungs healthy is important
now. Talking about the importance of teaching swimming, a spokesperson from Swimming Matters says, “Swimming is a life-saving skill and by not being able to teach people to swim, we are putting that many people at risk. Furthermore, drowning is the second highest preventable cause of death in India after road accidents. And with coaches not being able to teach,many are losing that touch with water.”
COMPETITIVE SWIMMERS TAKE A HIT
The Swimming Matters spokesperson adds that aquatics is one of the biggest sports at the Olympics in terms of medal count. “Forty nine gold medals at the games include swimming, diving, water polo, synchronised swimming and open water swimming.The tally touches close to 100, if we are to include other activities related to the sports,” she says. Shreesh adds that because of the pandemic, the student population at his academy has reduced by 25%. “It takes three to four years to train a competitive swimmer. I am an Ekalavya awardee and it took me 20 years to get to my peak. Now, with the 2020 pandemic,we have already lost swimmers who were in the system for three to four years. Every single day that you do not swim, you have to slog for three to four days to make up for it. This worries me,” he says.
KARNATAKA SWIMMING ASSOCIATION AWAITS A GREEN SIGNAL
Despite the Karnataka Swimming Association (KSA) trying to push for the cause, there seems to be no respite. “Training has started everywhere including Dubai and Sri Lanka and nowhere has a COVID-19 case been reported. Our request to permit at least 20
pools which would be supervised by KSA following all SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) has also not been given a green signal. All studies and case studies have been submitted, but we are yet to convince the Centre,” says M Satish Kumar, secretary, KSA.
EXPECTATIONS OF SWIMMERS
An ongoing survey by Swimming Matters, has so far covered over 200 participants from across 20 plus cities. The participants included competitive swimmers, recreational swimmers and parents of swimmers. The survey reveals…
● 75% believe swimming pools are safe
● 72% will start swimming as soon as pools open
● 55% can pay a marginally higher fee to cover costs of sanitisation and social distancing measures
Swimming training has started everywhere including Dubai and Sri Lanka and no COVID-19 case has been reported. We are yet to get a green signal here
— M Satish Kumar, Secretary, Karnataka Swimming Association
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