Out of the blue

Swimming is our second favourite pastime (walking, since you ask). Kieran Nash took his togs and towel to find why there's not enough water, water anywhere.
It's rush hour. Lanes are jammed with people not giving way. Slow movers clog the fast lane. In the congestion, frustrated people lose their cool as they try to get from A to B.
No, it's not another rant about Auckland's traffic: this is what happens in our public swimming pools.
Swimming is officially our second-most popular pastime, after walking. With winter here, the only option for most bathers is a council pool.
The only time they can afford to swim or take the family is after work - "peak time" - and in many pools, the chance of a decent swim is hampered by the lack of free lanes. Different groups vie for the same water - swim clubs, swim schools, casual lap-swimmers and recreational users - making it hard to get a decent swim.
Everyone recognises the problem; casual users, swim schools, the councils. There aren't enough pools in Auckland.
I took my togs and towel to four pools around the region to see if it's possible to get a decent swim - and to see if others feel the same way.
First stop: West Wave in Henderson, Waitakere's only public pool. Built for the 1990 Commonwealth Games, rebuilt after, the place is huge; an amphitheatre which swallows noise and coughs it out in clangs and echoes. Among the wave pools, spas, saunas and a dive pool are two main lap pools.
At the first, private groups are using all but one lane. At the other, a water-walking class occupies two lanes, a children's swimming class has a third. Five are available for recreational swimming: two slow, two medium and one fast lane.
This leaves me two options: either of the slow lanes. In one, a woman is giving a private lesson, the pair prancing abreast at turtle pace. So I jump into the other, which I share with a portly man of about 50 who wears a dive mask,  a couple of teenage girls and a tattooed man with a flutterboard and flippers. I must be under-dressed. I don't even have goggles.
Afterwards I talk to punters  such as Mal Blair, who comes to the pool twice a week. He agrees congestion is a problem.
"During peak times it's really difficult to get a lane. When you do, you find you're compressed with a whole lot of other swimmers."
A big part of it, he says, is the gym culture. "It's more of a strain on the resource itself. You'd think they'd be more focused on swimming," he says.
Martin Johnson was taking his three sons to the pool. Two of his boys train for water polo there. He's not so harsh on the place.
"It's not too bad, actually. It's a nice big place. It's better than the alternative, which is Mt Albert."
Next day it's the North Shore Leisure Centre in Takapuna. It's no West Wave. Home to one pool, a sauna cupboard and an out-of-action spa pool, it's a cosier affair. What it lacks in facilities, it makes up with impressive lake views.
Three of six lanes are open for Joe Punter, the other half taken up by two groups.
This time I have goggles so graduate to the middle lane. Less crowded than Henderson's pool, the swimming should be easier. Wrong.
Whatever they put in the water, it ain't natural-looking swimmers. I'm stuck behind a man who seems to clatter through the water. Relegated to breaststroke, I creep behind this misguided manatee, afraid to pass him for fear of being decapitated by a wayward arm or leg.
Resting afterward, I speak to a disgruntled man, one of the many around our pools with greying chest hair and a thin gold chain. He's annoyed at the lack of lanes and recently complained to management. "They said it would be over after the school holidays," he says. It isn't.
Leaving, I meet Steven Anderson and Elinor Atterhall. "It's quite busy here. When you come between 4-6pm, when there's kids in those lanes, it's bad. There's more room in Glenfield," says Steven.
Doug Waters is more forgiving. "At peak times you've got to expect that. There will be a lot of people and we have to compete for a lane."
The bottom line, he says, is to work out when lanes are less congested. But if you're a 9-to-5 worker ...
Walking along Broadway, the scent of Newmarket's Olympic Pools is like walking up to a giant sweet-smelling bathroom. And my first view of a 50m pool impresses. Opened in 1940, it was the swimming and diving venue when Auckland first hosted the Empire [Commonwealth] Games in 1950. Council-owned, it's "run in partnership" with Olympic Fitness Centre.
Groups are using two lanes; the rest are for water-walkers or slow, medium, and fast swimmers. Now I'm the manatee. Determined to swim at least eight 50m laps while retaining the dignity of a medium-speed swimmer, about four laps in my energy levels start to subside, transforming my smooth freestyle into ineffective thrashing broken by frantic gasps for air. When I eventually make the wall, a rather large queue has formed behind me. I promptly change lanes.
After gaining my breath, I speak to other casual users. "I enjoy swimming in this pool but every time I come here it's peak time and at least a third of the lanes are for swimming groups. It would make a big difference to me if they opened them up," says Ben Lees.
Alex and Naomi Bicheno take daughter Edan to the pool's swim school. "Just the other day my friend ended up slapping a few people because the lanes were chocka," says Alex.
"On the flip side it's really annoying when people jump in and disrupt the classes.
Auckland needs another pool," says Naomi.
At Manurewa's Aquatic Centre, I ask the the receptionist: "Can I go for a swim?"
"Yeah, sure. The changing rooms are just round the corner."
Pay? No. It's free to use a pool in Manukau.
The shallower of the two large pools is free from lanes; that's where people play or teach their children. The deeper pool has seven lanes, three in use; the rest are for slow, slow and medium speeds, one for water-walking.
I do a few laps, trailing behind a girl doing breaststroke. Kind of like driving on the motorway, I'm behind her while one man overtakes. When we get to the end of the lane, she graciously lets me go in front.
Outside, Jackson Pinto agrees the problem is Auckland-wide. "On weekends they close the entire pool. It's the main issue I'm having."
Aleesha Dennehy says it's good the pool is free, but "sometimes it's annoying when they've got 20 people trying to swim laps and there are two lanes open."
After talking with Aleesha I drive home. For me, rush hour is over.
The rest of the casual swimmers at Auckland's public pools are still waiting for a lane.

Pool managers respond:
West Wave. "It's a juggling act and we do the best we can," says assistant manager Mary Crosbie. "Whatever swimming pool you go to these days, they're limited in catering for the community. There are just too many people in Waitakere for the number of pools. There's a vast range of community groups to provide for, and they put lanes in the wave pool to ease pressure in peak times."
North Shore. North Shore City Council recognises a growing shortage of water in and around the city for public, swimming lesson and club use, says North Shore Leisure manager Kay Lawry. A new pool is scheduled in 2013.
Newmarket. Rob Nikkel, director of the Olympic Pool: "A lot of the problem with congested lanes is a lot of people can't swim with people in front of or behind them. The challenge is not everyone swims to the same speed. It's a balancing act of public education, people obeying the rules and the lifeguards keeping an eye on things. We try to cater for everyone but peak time usually causes us some headaches. There are more people wanting to swim than the amount of water available Auckland-wide. The ones who get the worst deal are recreational swimmers. These pools are more geared toward adult fitness."
Manukau. Manukau Leisure recognises conflicting issues in pools from 3.30pm on. It limits space for swimming clubs to a maximum three lanes during public hours; clubs generally have clear water outside public hours. It plans a pool in Barry Curtis Park in 2015-16.
Swim schools. Swim Magic swim school operates at five council-run pools in Auckland. Manager Stephen Peterson says a range of people compete for water - clubs, swim schools, and the public. More swimmers use the pool during swim school session than if they were swimming recreationally. "From 3.30 to 6pm we're trying to get eight kids per lane per hour, 16 per lane at Mt Albert. It's a fine balancing act." Pools are under pressure to turn a profit for the councils, and swimming groups are a steady flow of income, he says. "What's important is getting kids to learn to swim."
School pools. Auckland Swimming Association chief executive Brian Palmer says having fewer school pools puts pressure on public pools. "As schools close their pools, access to water time becomes more and more challenging. This has been a trend for an extended period of time. It means parents are faced with a decision to send their children to private lessons or to swimming clubs. It does place the strain on public swimming pools." But, he says, "we could have 10 times the public swimming pools and still fill them to capacity. There's a lot of pressure on existing water space." Schools close - or aren't building - pools for a number of reasons: cost, "onerous" OSH regulations and cultural issues. Watersafe Auckland business manager Teresa Stanley says there are 276 pools at 268 schools in the region. There are about 700 schools in Auckland.
Does this bug you? Tell us, tell Auckland: email letters@theaucklander.co.nz
Pool contacts and hours:
RODNEY
Leisure Centre, indoor, 159 Brightside Rd, Stanmore Bay. Ph (09) 424 1914. Mon-Thu 5.30am-9pm, Fri 5.30am-8pm, Sat 7am-6pm.
NORTH SHORE
Osborne Pool, indoor/outdoor, Mahara Ave, Birkenhead. Ph (09) 444 6340. Mon-Fri 6am-9am, 3.30pm-7pm, Sat 7am-noon.
Glenfield Leisure Centre, indoor, Bentley Ave. Ph (09) 444 6340. Mon-Fri 5.30am-9pm, Sat-Sun 8am-6pm, public holidays 9am-5pm.
Takapuna Aquatic Centre, indoor, Killarney St. Ph (09) 444 6340. Mon, Wed, Fri 6am-8.30pm, Tue, Thu 6am-6pm, Sat, Sun 10am-6pm.
AUCKLAND CITY
Youthtown, indoor, 68a Nelson St, CBD. Ph (09) 379 5430. Mon-Fri 7am-10pm, Sat-Sun 9am-5pm.
Olympic Pools, indoor, 77 Broadway, Newmarket. Ph (09) 522 4414. Mon-Fri 5.45am-10pm, weekends 7am-8pm.
Glen Innes Aquatic Centre, indoor, 122 Elstree Ave. Ph (09) 527 3260. Weekdays 5.30am-9pm, weekends, public holidays 7am-7.30pm.
Lagoon Leisure Centre, indoor, Panmure. Ph (09) 570 9061. Mon-Thu 5.30am-9pm, Fri 5.30am-8pm, weekends 8am-7pm.
Onehunga War Memorial Pool, indoor, Jellicoe Park. Ph (09) 636 5330. Mon-Thu 5.15am-8.30pm, Fri 5.15am-6.30pm, weekends 7am-
6.30pm.
Cameron Pool, indoor/outdoor, 53 Arundel St, Mt Roskill. Ph (09) 624 6058. Mon-Thu 6am-9pm, Fri 6am-8pm, Sat 7am-6pm, Sun 8.30am-6pm. Outdoor pool closed for winter.
Mt Albert Aquatic Centre, indoor, 38 Alberton Ave. Ph (09) 815 7005. Mon-Thu 6am-8pm, Fri 6am-9pm, weekends, public holidays 7am-9pm.
Tepid Baths, Customs St West, closed for repairs. Pt Erin Pool, Herne Bay; Grey Lynn Paddling Pool; Parnell Baths, all closed for winter.
WAITAKERE
West Wave, indoor, 20 Alderman Drive, Henderson. Ph (09) 838 3706. Mon-Fri 5.45am-9.30 pm, Sat, Sun, public holidays  6am-9.30pm.
MANUKAU
Lloyd Elsmore Park Leisure Centre, indoor, Pakuranga. Ph (09) 535 5502. Mon-Fri 6am-6.45pm, weekends, public holidays 9am-6.45pm.
Manurewa Aquatic Centre, indoor, 10 Sykes Rd. Ph (09) 269 0930. Mon-Fri 6am-6.45pm, weekends, public holidays 9am-6.45pm.
Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa Leisure Centre, indoor/outdoor, Mascot Ave, Mangere. Ph (09) 275 8979. Mon-Fri 6am-6.45pm, weekends, public holidays 9am-6.45pm. Outdoor pool closed for winter.
Papatoetoe Centennial Pools, indoor/outdoor, Sutton Cres. Ph (09) 278 4167. Mon-Fri 6am-6.45pm, weekends, public holidays 9am-6.45pm. Outdoor pool closed for winter.
Otara Leisure Centre, Newbury St, closed for construction; Totara Park Pools, Manurewa, closed for winter.
PAPAKURA
Massey Park Aquatic Centre, indoor/outdoor, 2 Ron Keat Drive. Weekdays 5.30am-8pm, Sat, Sun 6.30am-8pm. Outdoor pool closed for winter.
Papakura Recreation Centre, indoor, 294 Great South Rd. Ph (09) 298 6852. Mon-Thu 6am-8.30pm, Fri 6am-7.30pm, Sat 8.30am-12.30pm.
FRANKLIN
Franklin Swim, Sport and Fitness, indoor, Franklin Rd, Pukekohe. Ph (09) 238 5240. Mon, Wed, Fri 6am-8pm, Tue, Thu 6am-9pm, weekends 9am-5pm.
Jubilee Pool, Bledisloe Park; Centennial Pool, Lightbody Reserve, Tuakau; and Whiteside Pool, Centennial Reserve, Waiuku, all closed for winter.
What your council spends (operating costs, 2008-9 financial year):
Rodney $346,000
North Shore $4,776,000
Waitakere $5,445,000
Auckland City $3,323,000
Manukau $7,205,000
Papakura $1,298,000
Franklin $991,000