Mermaid tails were banned from Bay Venues pools this week, due to safety concerns about the toy, but a mermaid tail advocate says they should not be considered a toy in the first place.
Instructor and founder of Mount MerSwim School Shannon Avery, supported the decision to ban the use of mermaid tails at Bay Venues pools, saying it emphasised the fact that mermaid tails should not be treated as toys.
Currently the tails, which bind children's legs from the waist or chest down with a mono-fin for their feet, were being sold as novelty toys, she said, when they needed to be sold as sports equipment.
"It needs to be taught. It's not something you can stick on your kids' feet and chuck them in the water. If you take your kid snowboarding, which is recognised as a fairly dangerous sport, you would never stick your kid on a snowboard and push them down the hill.
"Mermaid tails need to be viewed in the same way," Ms Avery said.