Deluged council pool line crashes

THOUSANDS of callers crashed a call line yesterday when the City of Greater Geelong opened pool bookings.

The system for the councilrun pools went into meltdown minutes after opening.

Michelle Jokic, who spent more than 30 minutes trying to secure a place at Waterworld Leisure Centre, said the system was an “absolute schemozzle”.

“After weeks of pools being shut, surely they’d expect a response like this with many people eager to swim again,” Ms Jokic said.

“I just think, couldn’t they have been better prepared?”

She called multiple pools from 9am, with all repeating an automated message stating, “The number off allowed calls has been reached”.

She was eventually able to make a booking, but called on the council to provide a more “user-friendly” system.

The council’s director of community life, Robyn Stevens, said it was exciting to see the high number of people keen to return to its pools.

Ms Stevens said demand eased mid-morning, and interested swimmers had been able to book their places.

“There are still some timeslots available during the next seven days,” she said.

The council had since created more phone lines to cater to future peak periods and was examining its options for an online booking system, Ms Stevens said.

Pools including Leisurelink Aquatic & Recreation Centre, Bellarine Aquatic & Sports Centre, and Splashdown Leisure Centre will reopen from Friday.

But they will be subject to new rules, including limited numbers and no walk-ins, under the gradual easing of coronavirus restrictions.