The City of Greater Geelong has extended the supervised hours for the Children's Pool at Eastern Beach from 9am - 7pm daily from Boxing Day until the end of January 2025.
The extension comes in response to community feedback, which showed the people value using the pool in the mornings in peak time early in the new year.
City of Greater Geelong chief executive Ali Wastie:
The national industry standard for aquatic facilities has different safety requirements for chlorinated pools as opposed to beaches – which is why the Children's Pool has been fenced when the beach is not.With growing popularity and usage of the area along with an increase in drownings across the state, we must take reasonable steps to ensure public safety.
We recognise that not everyone will agree with the steps that we've taken, but these concerning statistics leave us with no choice.
We ask everyone to be respectful towards our staff who will enforce this decision by locking the pool gates, and who will be supervising the area to make sure everyone can return home safely at the end of the day.
Geelong Mayor Stretch Kontelj OAM:
Council heard your feedback about the supervised hours, and we've taken action to get the Children's Pool open for longer.Eastern Beach is a beautiful location for families to enjoy, and these extended hours will a big win for families wanting to get down and enjoy a swim during those warm January mornings.
