Swimmers flock to famous poos pool
Mystery poos found floating in an Invercargill pool on six consecutive Fridays have done little to deter swimmers, with Splash Palace employing extra staff to cope with record numbers of swimmers.
About 36,500 people used the facility during the height of the ‘‘mystery pooper’’ dramas in March, up about 1500 visitors on the same month last year.
While there were about 1000 fewer users in April, numbers were still well up on the previous April.
Invercargill City Council aquatic services manager Pete Thompson said the centre had recently employed a new senior lifeguard and two learn-to-swim teachers to cope with increasing demand, while a vacancy for a cafe worker was being advertised.
The centre’s profile had ‘‘certainly grown’’ as a result of global media attention, he said.
‘‘There was always that fear that people would stay away [because of the poos], but it hasn’t affected our admissions at all actually,’’ he said.
‘‘People have generally been very understanding that sometimes these things happen, but in this case the frequency and the regularity of it was the strange thing. It was quite problematic for a while.’’
Thompson said Australian radio DJs Meshel Laurie and Tommy Little were planning to visit the centre with some of their listeners to do a story on the mystery pooper.
It appeared the culprit had taken their business elsewhere, but the story continued to attract attention, Thompson said.
‘‘Everybody seems to know about it – whether it’s impacted on admissions or not I don’t know, but people are certainly aware that Splash Palace is here.’’
Thompson said visitor numbers had consistently increased over the past two or three years.
He put it down to initiatives including the introduction of a cold plunge pool, new one-on-one weekend swimming lessons and changes to the cafe menu.
The centre was expecting about 17,500 enrolments in learn-to-swim classes this school term, he said.
The council’s proposal to build a $2.137 million extension including a dry gym and two additional changing rooms was expected to further increase Splash Palace’s customer base, he said.
‘‘I’d love to have an extra 25-metre pool as well, and it would be utilised without a doubt,’’ Thompson said.
‘‘There will certainly be an opportunity to have a chat to the council about what we’re going to do about pool space in the future.
‘‘If we want population growth Invercargill, these are the sorts conversations we need to have.’’ in of