Calday Swimming Pool
Calday Grange Swimming Pool is a local community pool run by Calday Grange Swimming Pool Trust that has been serving the residents of Wirral for over 100 years, when it was opened in 1921.
More recently the pool was put onto a long term lease from Calday Grange Grammar School and has its own registered charity set up in 1996. It currently stands as a 25 metre indoor pool that has many uses to many different user groups, these include swimming lessons for both children and adults, swimming teacher and lifeguard courses, competitive swim club sessions, canoeing and water exercise classes and primary school swimming lessons. Recently the pool has had their development plans approved that could allow for a partial redesign and modernisation of the building and surrounding land, for the benefit of the pool users and the members staff.
The pool has been and still is a central hub for all things swimming and water based activities, it is a privately run pool but it provides vital access to the Wirral community. Thousands of children have learnt to swim in this pool and some of these have continued on to develop their swimming through competitions, an example would be Freya Anderson MBE who trained at Calday pool when she was younger. Freya Anderson represents Great Britain at international events including The Olympics where she won gold with her freestyle relay group and has multiple commonwealth medals to her name. The pool is both a starting point and a developing point for all things swimming. As well as swimming lessons for children the pool also hosts adult lessons in which they help people with any swimming ability, from complete beginners to those who can swim multiple lengths at once, aiding with water confidence which is a vital and literal life saving skill to have.
Many of us have grown up knowing Calday Pool as a 25 metre indoor swimming pool but it was first built as an outdoor pool, even home to a few frogs. The students and staff from Calday Grange used the pool for swimming and swimming competitions. John attended and used the then outdoor pool multiple times, he described it as, ‘The coldest pool I have ever been in! There was moss and algae growing on the floor and the pool was surrounded by trees which kept the majority of the sunlight out. I used to swim in competitions between my school and Calday Grange and I remember when a boy got put into detention for writing in the moss on the pool floor.’ This clearly shows how the pool has developed to suit the needs of its users through the years and has definitely got warmer and the old residents frogs can no longer be found swimming laps of the pool.
The new and vital modernisation of the pool building and surrounding land that will be taking place within a three year window will improve the existing facilities. These changes are not only modernising the pool but also opening up access to so many more people which will encourage more to take part in sport. Gary Lewis, manager and pool operator, says, ‘These changes and modernisations would be fantastic and go some way in bringing the facilities in-line with where we feel we should be. We want to be in a position where we can provide an access point into the building for disabled users, whilst also offering a purpose built changing area. The plan is to also install a disabled hoist on to the poolside so that swimmers can be assisted in and out of the water safely. We are also looking to run first aid/AED courses from our classroom for the local community - we feel this would be very popular and a massive benefit to all. The whole project is aimed at improving this hidden gem for future generations to enjoy, whilst providing a skill that can and does save lives.’
These plans have had great feedback from the pool users in which Chris, the assistant manager, commented on by saying, ‘We have had overwhelming positive feedback for the upcoming development plans which is great to hear. The pool is used by so many different people from the local area and is such a vital facility that allows people of all ages to learn an imperative life skill, escape from the stresses of daily life or even just come for a social swim and chat to some friendly faces! With the pool being so heavily utilised on a daily basis we are in major need of a modernisation. The plans to modernise the changing rooms/reception area and add a disabled entrance will not only help to make the pool accessible for more people but ensure that we can stay open for years to come to inspire future generations with an updated facility that is more fit for purpose and accessible for all.’
I asked Sarah, the swim coordinator at Calday pool, to what extent do she think the development of the pool will benefit the children that are and will learn to swim here? She said, ‘Having new facilities means that we can run courses here, (lifeguarding, teaching and first aid to name a few). This week we have run a Rookie Lifeguarding course to encourage water safety and awareness, hopefully in the near future those children will become lifeguards or swimming teachers. The development of the pool will ultimately improve the swimmer's experience at lessons. The new facilities will make swimming lessons more accessible for current and future generations, allowing us to cater lessons to a wider cohort. These new provisions will also enable us to run lifeguard and teaching courses which will provide future generations with the skills and abilities needed to take on professional roles within our pool community.’
Swimming is so important, it is a life skill that can save your life. It is a vital skill and sport that can be pursued as a hobby or could develop into a career. Swim England says that (as of December 2022) 28% of children leave primary school not being able to swim 25 metres confidently, which just shows how these local pools such as Calday need to be supported and developed to keep up to date with the modern standards to therefore help more children become safe and confident in the water.