If you are looking for a swimming course, be prepared for long waits and dilapidated pools. From the difficult path to the seahorse.
A jump into cold water can make you happy Photo: Panthermedia/imago
This is a summer column, the author has delved into dictation – which brings us to the topic: it’s about the outdoor pool Favorite subject of the Germans and their journalists. Every summer there are texts swimming in nostalgia and chlorinated memories of youth like this French fries in mayonnaise. Not this one.
When I think of outdoor swimming pools, I no longer think of endless summer days, but rather of the fact that Germany is broken and what that has to do with the rise of the populists. And it happened like this: my son had to learn to swim. Not for fun, but to survive.
You often read that many people are frustrated these days because they realize that their children will not have a better life in the future than they did. I do not ask for much, I only want my child not to drown and that I do that too The government provides the necessary infrastructure for this. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
In the failed city where I live, that is true poorly functioning swimming poolsPlaces in swimming classes are hard to come by. Last summer I set my alarm to get a spot in one Seahorse course In the fall I received an email stating that there had been a fire in the technical area of the swimming pool, that the swimming pool was closed and that the track unfortunately had to be canceled.
There are private swimming schools, which are expensive. Moreover, I am old-fashioned: I think that the ability of citizens to survive is something that should be in the vested interest of a state. It is also beneficial for demographic development if children learn to swim, so that they do not drown before they start paying taxes or taking care of the elderly. The state does not seem to share my opinion. That is why the DLRG points out that one in five children between the ages of 6 and 10 cannot swim.
The state is not doing its job
Let’s take three swimming pools within the radius of where I live: one has had its season postponed due to a lack of staff, the second has been closed, the slide has been closed by the TÜV for safety reasons, and the third has had its non-swimming area abandoned and closed. The catchment area of these three swimming pools is home to at least 500,000 people, most of whom do not have a garden or balcony where they can install a paddling pool.
When it is said that the German infrastructure is dilapidated, that is abstract. In concrete terms it means: The state is not fulfilling its most fundamental task: ensuring that its citizens do not drown. Why should we still vote for parties from the so-called center? Billions for rearmament offer, but shoot down your own state that is ready for an attack?
The last sentence was probably too populist for you, and I’d love to cool my face, but there’s no room for me in the pool right now.
Finally the seahorse test
I taught my son to swim myself then. It took years instead of a swimming course. Since my natural authority in the family is quickly questioned, every training led to tears. It was handy that we were wearing swimming trunks anyway and that our faces were wet.
The time had come on a sunny Tuesday. After school we went to the outdoor pool to finally do the seahorse test. When we arrived there was a sign on the fence saying that the pool was closed due to technical problems. We drove on, half an hour to the nearest open pool. The ticket office was not manned, you can only enter if you buy your ticket online.
But then, and now there is some swimming pool nostalgia, we walked barefoot over the tiles, which were already cracked, to the edge of the pool. The lifeguard gave a signal. My son jumped. I was so happy.