This Friday sounds like the official launch of the “long vacation”, holidays that often rhyme with fun, games and perhaps swimming, sea and swimming pools. Unfortunately, this period is also that of many drownings. According to Public Health France, nearly 1,500 drownings were recorded in 2021, including nearly 400 fatalities.
In addition to all the prevention and first aid tools that exist, the best solution to avoid a tragedy is to be comfortable in the water and know how to swim. But for that, you still need to have a swimming pool and a learning format nearby. And on this subject, the Ile-de-France contains many white areas. To overcome these shortcomings and offer a maximum of young Ile-de-France residents learning to swim, there is a solution: mobile pools.
Three pool models and multiple possibilities
Proposed by the Île-de-France swimming league, these pools are real small mobile pools, ready to be installed (almost) anywhere. “It’s a very old concept, explains Lazreg Benelhadj, president of the league and vice-president of the French Swimming Federation, citing the example of the beach swimming pools of the “Club Mickey”. But as part of the “Learning to swim” and “Aquatic ease” plans developed by the Ministry of Sports, the federation, with the help of professionals in the sector, has developed models suitable for learning to swim. “These are solid structures with platforms all around which allow lifeguards to intervene as in a real swimming pool. »
If fourteen basins were deployed throughout France last year, including five in Île-de-France, the program will pass a milestone in 2023. Indeed, three different pools are now available for three different uses. A “small” learning pool of 10 mx 5 m which can accommodate 12 to 15 children, a “medium” pool of 14 mx 7 m and a “large” swimming pool of 20 mx 10 m or 25 mx 8 m “The large one corresponds to the dimensions of a real swimming pool with 4 or 5 swimming lines”, comments Lazreg Benelhadj.
In the schoolyard, in the gymnasium…
These different models offer a rather exceptional versatility to the device. Whether it is to install it for two weeks for a massage learning program for the children of a municipality, or to develop the practice of swimming over one or more years, these models offer a lot of flexibility.
And the first examples are legion: from Villetaneuse (93) which installed a small pool in a schoolyard, to L’Isle-Adam (95) which launched a learning project over several months, passing by Bezons (95) which installed a large pool in a gymnasium for the benefit of 350 children and schoolchildren after the temporary closure of its swimming pool.
“In several cities we are replacing municipal swimming pools that are under construction. Moreover, we are currently working urgently with the city of Draveil (91), so the swimming pool is closed for the summer following of arson which took place last week,” explains Lazreg Benelhadj.
Comprehensive support and significant financial support
The president of the Ile-de-France league insists on this point, all projects are studied and supported “from A to Z” by the league and the swimming federation. A single condition: that the central objective of the system be learning. “They are not intended to replace hard pools, but the municipalities do what they want on the side, they can open it to the general public, competitive training or offer aquahealth courses. »
It even encourages municipalities to inquire and make a request to the league to install a device. Even if it means doing the VRP: “Many don’t know or give up thinking that it costs as much as a hard pool. »
However, precisely, the cost is a strong argument of the program. First, unlike traditional swimming pools with expensive charges, the pools are equipped with energy-saving technologies. Then they are available for rent or purchase. In the first case, the federation acquires and makes the device available. Only the costs of assembly and dismantling are borne by the community (approximately 25,000 euros).
A pool = A “free” lifeguard
In the event of purchase, the cost, from 120,000 to 500,000 euros depending on the model, can be reduced by aid from the region, which can amount to up to 80% of the gross purchase value (i.e. without options and staff).
The federation and the league even support the training of lifeguards, employed by the league thanks to funding from the region, in collaboration with the Creps de Châtenay-Malabry (92) and make these lifeguards available to communities.
“Communities should not start asking themselves how much it will cost them, but what they need,” concludes Lazreg Benelhadj.