Swimming: Five-fold rise in club members

The Tauranga Swimming Club, set in the picturesque confines of Memorial Park, is going from strength to strength. Photo / File

The Tauranga Swimming Club was at a low ebb little more than two years ago with membership numbers at about 50.

That number had increased five-fold to about 250 last year, with head coach Paul Kane confident the trend would continue.

He praised the club's committee - especially the work of Jill Fuller and Sonya Hudson - who had put all the necessary checks and balances in place for the transformation that has gained speed since his arrival.

All the hard work is paying off in the form of improved results and an atmosphere of family fun at the pools which cater for swimmers of all abilities. "The standard of kids is coming up a lot too, we're having more kids qualify for national events and starting to produce," said Kane.

The driven swimming coach switched from competitive swimming to coaching at an early age.

"I started off teaching Learn To Swim when I was 14-years-old to pay my own way during my swimming years.

"By the time I was 18 years old I was a better coach than I was a swimmer so was directed into coaching full-time from then."

The club has flexible times for all swimmers. Sessions for children are run on weekday mornings and evenings, with adult swimmers able to choose from 24 time slots each week.

"We've got a lot of families where the kids and the parents swim - some in the same time slot.

"It's amazing, it's one of those sports where you can have a range through the different lanes and families can swim together."

The swimming club will hold its annual carnival on November 23, with a parents and kids combined relay.