Selection Park pool attracts children
The Selection Park Swimming Pool opened its gates to the public on Thursday.
Teenagers and younger children, accompanied by their parents, enjoyed the cool blue water of the swimming pool.
Rory Goodall says he saw the message about the opening of the pool on their social media group and decided to take his two children Isabelle (7) and Alistair (2) for a swim.
Isabella says the water is too cold, but Alistair enjoyed the water.
Read:Â Public swimming pool to open in October
For Francois Helberg (9), who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth, the water looked like quite an attraction.
His sister Elena (2) splashed in the shallow children’s pool for a while with their mother Elbie Helberg (31).
Elbie says she is delighted that the pool opened to the public as water exercise is vital for Francois’ condition.
“We will visit the pool as often as possible,” she says.
Soon after the Helberg family tried out the baby pool, they took on the challenge of the bigger pool.
Francois splashed and yelled in excitement while Elbie held on to him.
Read:Â Olympia Park swimming pool will get a facelift
Brandon Howie (27) says he read about the opening of the pool in an article in the Advertiser.
“I will definitely be a regular visitor,” he says.
Bianca Jansen (17) took her sister Nastelle Jansen (8) for a swim.
Nastelle says the water is a bit cold, but she loved every moment of their swim.
Nathaniel Komana (19) and a group of his friends exercised their diving styles. He says the water is not too cold.
“Besides, the sun is hot and we need to cool off,” he says.
Acting caretaker Johan Matthee says they were surprised by the number of people who visited the pool.
“We know it is a slow start, but as soon as the community receives the news, they will flock to the pool,” he says.
Three Ekurhuleni Metro qualified lifeguards, Johan and his two colleagues, Sabelo Gumbi and Nkosana Mabena, will be on duty.
The pool is open from 10am to 6pm from Tuesday to Saturday.
On public holidays and Sundays the gates open at 2pm.
The metro has not responded to multiple queries about the official opening and filling of the pool, during water restrictions, since the first query was sent on October 3.
