Ballarat Aquatic & Lifestyle Centre is going through a period of unprecedented growth. Visitations to BALC have increased 18% post COVID, our Aquatic Memberships have increased 38% in the last two years, and our swim clubs have reported a surge in membership growth.
This growth has put pressure on both our 25m pool and 50m pool, particularly around lap lane availability for recreational swimmers in the afternoon and evenings.
In 2023, BALC conducted an industry scan to see how other regional aquatic centres manage lap lane availability and pool space for recreational swimming, Learn to Swim, Aqua Aerobics and swim clubs. The key takeout from this work was that BALC is the only aquatic centre that is not regularly utilising the boom in our 50m pool to increase the number of lap lanes available.
To keep up with current and projected demand, we will now be maximizing the potential of the 50m pool by deploying the use of the boom.
From 6 November 2024, the boom will be moved into position and the 50m pool will be in 25m mode between 3pm and close each weekday. This will increase the number of available lanes to 24 across the centre.
During this time, the South End of the pool (closest to the change rooms) will be available for recreational swimming and programmed Aqua aerobic classes. The North End of the pool will be mostly used for swim clubs only. The 25m pool will only be used for recreational swimming (min 4 lanes) and BALC’s Learn to Swim program.
There are currently no plans to introduce the boom in the mornings or weekends (excluding events).
We look forward to offering our patrons more options for swimming in the afternoon and evening and we thank you in advance for your cooperation as we transition to this new layout.
