Message from our chair, Bill Wolstencroft to all parents, carers and guardians:
It is with regret that Congleton Amateur Swimming Club needs to make you aware of some changes to the way we operate.
Everybody Sport and Recreation (ESAR) is the trust which runs the Leisure Centre for the council. They have told us that:
- The cost of hiring the pool will rise by 50% from 1 April 2016. For the time being, the club will cover the cost of this rise.
- From 1 April 2017, we will no longer be allowed to hire the pool in order to teach swimming. This means the two sessions at 6:30pm and 7pm that we currently run.
The intention is that ESAR will provide all swimming lessons from then, up to a certain standard. It is apparently the only way in which ESAR can remain financially viable.
Although we will be OK in the short term, if we are only allowed to run the 7:30pm and adult sessions, the club will soon run out of money. The management committee will be looking into all the implications very soon, and will be working on an action plan.
CASC has been running for 79 years, entirely run by volunteers, so it is very sad indeed that the club is under such a threat. There are similar schemes being put in place in many parts of the country and ESAR is applying their new conditions to all 11 clubs that operate in Cheshire East.
In the meantime, if your child will need further swim teaching and you want him or her to continue learning after April 2017, you will need to contact the Leisure Centre.
Yours sincerely
Bill Wolstencroft
Chair
CASC
Congleton Amateur Swimming Club 