FOR some months now there have been petitions circulating around town urging the Council to enclose and heat the Bombal Swimming Pool - and the campaign has just ramped up a notch!
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The Bombala Chamber of Commerce, which has been the driving force behind the idea, is now planning a community rally at the pool on Monday, March 9 at 6pm and all are encouraged to come along to show their support.
The event is being held to demonstrate to the Bombala Council that the community is fully behind the idea, and wants the opportunity to better utilise the swimming pool throughout the year.
And the reasons to support the enclosure and heating of the pool are definitely many! One of the main ones being the health benefits that the move would offer the entire community.
We now know that having an active lifestyle is one of the most important ways to increase your health and wellbeing, and the incredible success of the local gym has proven that Bombala residents are serious about keeping fit.
An enclosed and heated pool that allowed year round access would not only offer further encouragement for locals to pursue an active lifestyle, it would also provide a facility for water therapy that would be a huge benefit to our older residents and those with injuries.
A group of local ladies currently make a weekly trip to Cooma to utilise the hydrotherapy pool there, and the Bombala Times has reported on the incredible improvement they have seen in their health and mobility. And this is just one example.
Imagine if these ladies could stay in Bombala for their water therapy; imagine if our families could access swimming lessons for their young children year round in Bombala without the shivering and tears; imagine if we could all just take a swim whenever we liked, whether for fitness or fun, right here in Bombala!
And that’s without considering the numerous other benefits to the town, which include the creation of jobs at the pool complex, keeping locals in town rather than letting them seek out better facilities elsewhere, and even providing local sports people with better training facilities.
Many families travel out of our area every week for swimming lessons alone, and while they’re away in the larger centres they do their shopping,enjoy something to eat and fuel up their cars. The entire business community of Bombala stands to benefit from enclosing and heating our pool.
While the Bombala Council has concerns about the expense of operating and maintaining the swimming pool year round, it seems that our Councillors are slowly becoming willing to consider the idea.
The Chamber of Commerce believes that there are many avenues to explore in terms of securing funding for the project and offsetting maintenance costs, whether this be through grants, local fundraising initiatives or both.
They just want the chance to have the idea fully explored and for a serious effort to be put towards making this dream a reality that can benefit the entire community. Let’s show Council, our Members of Parliament, and anyone else who will listen, just how much we want this!
First of all, sign one of the petitions around town, and second make sure you join the rally at the Bombala Swimming Pool on March 9 from 6pm. There’s no better way to prove that the community stands strongly behind the idea of heating and enclosing our pool then to show up and be counted!