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Anorak News | At A Stroke

At A Stroke

by | 22nd, March 2004

‘IT is little wonder that we have become a nation of fatties when one in eight ten-year-olds plays no sport at all at school.

A potential paedophile at play

But we don’t exactly make it easy to do exercise away from the classroom either, with the Mail this morning reporting on how backstroke has been banned in one council-run swimming pool because it is too dangerous.

Swimmers at Daisyfield Pool in Blackburn have been told to stick to strokes which enable them to see where they are going so they don’t collide with other people or hit the sides of the pool.

“They will probably ban breaststroke next for being rude,” complains Steve McCann, a 40-year-old mechanic who uses the pool with his two daughters.

“We really are living in a very pedantic society.”

David Sparkes, chief executive of the Amateur Swimming Association, agreed: “It’s bureaucracy gone mad and it just beggars belief.”

The ban follows a recent decision by a school in Chippenham to ban footballs from the playground because they were “dangerous”.

But Blackburn & Darwen Council, which last year became the first council to ban mobile phones from its pools in case paedophiles used them to take pictures of children, defended its decision.

“We felt it was a common sense decision,” said Kate Hollern, executive council member for leisure and culture.

Indeed, but if the problem is that the pool is too crowded, then why not go further.

Ban adults altogether – after all, inside everyone of us there’s a potential paedophile waiting to get out…’



Posted: 22nd, March 2004 | In: Tabloids Comment | TrackBack | Permalink