Saving the pool to save the community | The Pool

Heywire winner Lauren Paynter, Nyah, Vic

Across Australia, small towns are dying out. Unfortunately, so is mine.

But when my local pool, the community hub for so many, was under threat of closure, I knew I had to do something.

I still remember the first time I touched the bottom of the deep end and I have many great memories of the afternoons I spent racing my siblings up and down the pool.

My family would often be the first ones there when it opened for the day, to do some laps before the sun came up.

To me, it is my home away from home.

My sister and I have been lifeguards at the pool for five years now, and for the last two years we've been managing it as well.

When the management job became vacant two years ago, I said I would be happy to step up and take on the role.

Managing the pool was daunting at first.

The pool and the pumps were quite old, and not everything worked the way it should. I remember thinking, where do we even start?

But since then we've updated signage, educated parents about supervising their children in the water, and we're always encouraging more people to come in for a swim.

Except we can't do it alone.

Keeping the pool open is a constant battle. Funding is lacking, and swimmers have dropped as more people now have their own backyard pool.

We rely on volunteers to manage the kiosk and maintain the premises.

These people are the backbone of our community — like Rodney, our maintenance man.

He spends hours every weekend mowing the lawn and cleaning the pool. If ever there's a problem, Rodney is the one to fix it.

But rural communities like ours are drying up as more people move away.

We need to ensure the survival of the small towns scattered across rural Australia because when a town dies, a community dies with it.

So, my sister and I are working on a succession plan.

We're training more lifeguards, recruiting new people to join the committee, and trying to update the facilities.

We want all children in the community to have the opportunity to learn to swim, just like we did.

We're trying to save our pool, so we can save our community too.

Billabongs, ocean baths, backyard pools or the local swim centre – The Pool is Australian culture. ABC TV + iview 7:40 pm September 22 & 29. Link ABC TV + iview TBC #abcthepool

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