Club's swimming back to naturist success
A NUDIST swimming club threatened with closure has been saved – thanks to growing interest in naturism.
A NUDIST swimming club threatened with closure has been saved – thanks to growing interest in naturism.Norman and June Calvert had planned to close their Club Soleil nudist swimming evening in December due to plummeting membership numbers and the soaring cost of hiring Manor Pool, in Whittlesey, each month.
But in a last-ditch attempt to save the club, they decided to keep it going for three more months.
And they were delighted to see some new faces at the club, which had almost 45 people at its March meeting.
Heartened by the upturn in the club’s fortune, the couple have decided to keep it running until the end of the year.
Norman, who has run the club for the past 11 years, said: “Attendance was pretty good last time, which was very encouraging to see.
“At one point, we only had 18 people at the evening, so it’s good to see old faces coming back and a few new people too.
“It’s an ideal place for the club as it has a sauna, showers and a terrific swimming pool. If we lost it, the nearest place would be either Sleaford or Northampton, both of which are more than 40 miles away.
“Some of these pools also close at 5pm on Saturdays, which is no good for us either.”
Norman has been forced to raise the admission prices by 50p, up to 5.50 for members and 6.50 for non-members, to keep the loss-making club in the black.
He said: “We were hit really hard by last year’s increase in hiring the pool. The 60 per cent increase made it very hard for us to cope.
“We were also hit really hard by the child protection rules. It was a silly thing as anyone who’s visited the club knows it’s absolutely fine.
“The message is simple: use it or lose it. We’re relying on people to support the club and keep it open.”
The meetings take place on the first Saturday of the month at 7pm, but the club will not run during the summer months of June, July and August.
n For more information, call Norman on 01733 270270.
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Monday 15 March 2010
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