A decade ago, it was Northland’s biggest club with 157 swimmers.
This year there were just 45 swimmers, which Brown believed was possibly one of the smallest seasons.
She attributed the drop to limited class sizes due to Covid-19, the limited number of available coaches and a smaller committee.
Meanwhile, the $10 million Te Hiku Sports Hub - centred around four pools - was said to be on track to open at South Road’s Moerua Park by the end of September.
Community Business and Environment Centre (CBEC) Far North pools operations manager, Carolyn Barnes, said she looked forward to the upgrade, as the task of keeping the old facility operating was an “absolute nightmare”.
She said the hub pools would be managed primarily by Australian company Belgravia Leisure in partnership with CBEC, the latter of which had managed council-owned Kaitāia Memorial since 1990 and continued to manage pools in Kerikeri, Kaikohe and Kawakawa.
Barnes said the old pool had “limped along for many years, with substandard change rooms, plant room, pipes and concrete surrounds, not to mention the huge water loss due to leakage.”
“It’s been nursed through the last three or four seasons while waiting for the hub to be completed.”
Barnes also cited persistent vandalism as a key point of stress.
“We’ve had to pay for repairs and security for a facility that many kids in the neighbourhood clearly do not respect.”
Far North District Council delivery and operations group manager Kevin Johnson said the now-closed pool would be decommissioned ahead of the hub’s opening, and plans for the site would be decided by the Te Hiku Community Board.
Barnes expected the new indoor facility - with fencing, security cameras and year-round employment needs offering career potential - to be “an absolute delight to manage”.
According to Mark Osborne, project manager at Te Hiku Sports Hub, the new complex had eventuated because of the challenges at Kaitāia Memorial and would be “the start of the future”.
Osborne said a hydrotherapy pool - with accessibility ramps and heated to an industry-standard 34C for comfort during lower activity periods - would support recovery, while the learn-to-swim pool’s raised perimeter would offer seating.
An eight-lane pool would operate on a varied activity schedule for maximum use and a heated splash pad for toddlers and young children would round out the initial offering.
FNDC’s Johnson said the council would partner with the hub to assist with operational funding, similarly to how it funded other district pools.
Council provides an annual grant of $307,000 to the Far North’s only indoor pool at Kawakawa, plus $27,000 annually for maintenance.
However, it’s been closed since February after part of the roof fell off and hit a staff member, resulting in repairs totalling about $160,000.
Recreational swimmers and hydrotherapy groups will lack a place to swim until it reopens in May, and youngsters from Bay of Islands Swimming Club have had to train in increasingly cooler outdoor temperatures ahead of next month’s national championships.
The hub’s new pools would also benefit the club’s Doubtless Bay members.
In terms of fees for use at the hub, Osborne believed charges would “certainly be the same or similar” to that at Kaitāia Memorial, thanks to the role gym fees would play in subsidising operating costs.
He also described the four pools as “likely just the first stage”.
“The outdoor north-facing area can become an awesome family space, with an outdoor dive bombing pool probably the next cab off the rank.”
As for the swim club, the new indoor pools would enable Kaitāia Swim Club to continue year-round if there was sufficient interest from the public in replacing the current committee.
Brown welcomed anyone interested in taking it on to attend the AGM and seek nomination, otherwise its status would be put on hold for eventual closure.
Despite the club’s uncertain future, Brown anticipated the new pools’ opening.
“We are very fortunate to have access to such an amazing facility and can’t wait to see it open,” Brown said.
She also expressed excitement to learn what the hub would do in terms of swim lessons.
“We hope they are affordable and accessible, as the need up here is so great.”
