Swimming and group fitness have again been popular at Horsham Aquatic Centre, with the community asset reopening its doors after a three-month break.

The centre closed on March 23 in response to COVID-19 restrictions and reopened on Wednesday last week.

Centre manager Sam Winter said 400 patrons attended the centre in the first four days.

“We’ve had lots of members and other people from the community who have been really excited to get back to their fitness regimes in some capacity,” she said.

“The pools have been really popular, with lots of lap swimmers, people doing rehab and parents bringing their kids down for a swim.

“The main use has been the aquatic facilities and our group fitness classes have also been popular.

“Our next step is working towards options to reinstate memberships.”

Ms Winter said patrons had been patient with the centre’s staggered return to operations.

Under government regulations, each of the centre’s two pools can accommodate 20 people, with 20 patrons allowed in the health centre and 10 in group fitness classes.

Opening hours have changed, with the centre operating morning and afternoon sessions from Monday to Friday, 6am to noon and 3pm to 7pm. The centre is open from 8am to noon on Saturdays and is closed on Sundays. Patrons must book to access the centre.

“We’ve had a lot of good feedback about the online booking system, with people saying it’s simple and easy to use,” Ms Winter said.

“If people are unable to book online via our website they can always call the centre.”

Temporary closure 

Pool users will face another interruption next month while contractors replace rubber flooring surrounding both pools.

Ms Winter said the indoor pools would be closed from August 24 to September 6. 

“The dry half of the centre will still operate as normal,” she said.

Horsham Rural City Council infrastructure director John Martin said the current indoor concourse was 15 years old and had reached the end of its life.

He said the council had hoped the project could be completed as originally scheduled for mid-July, however COVID-19 restrictions caused delays on importing the required product, pushing the timeline out to the end of August. 

Mr Martin said work was also underway on a ramp at the centre entrance, to improve accessibility.

He said the project would include landscaping enhancements and new parking bays for mobility scooters. “It is important that our highly valued aquatic centre, which attracts people from all over the Wimmera, is as easy as possible for people of all abilities to enter,” he said.

“We want everyone to be confident they can enjoy the facility independently or with family and friends.”

Mr Martin said these works should cause minimum disruptions to users and, weather permitting, should be completed by the end of August.

– Sarah Matthews

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