A prominent figure in Ballarat’s swimming community has thrown his support behind the City of Ballarat’s decision to remove the YMCA as the service provider at the Ballarat Aquatic Centre.
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Head coach at the Ballarat Swimming Club Morgan Murphy said he was hopeful council would be able to turn around the Ballarat Aquatic Centre.
Mr Murphy claimed the centre had “deteriorated in recent years”.
He said the facility’s management had become more focused on charging users than providing services to the Ballarat community.
“To manage an aquatic centre you need someone with aquatic experience or someone prepared to listen to those who have this expertise,” Mr Murphy said.
“For the last few years that hasn’t been the case (with the YMCA).”
Members of the Ballarat Swimming Club had been forced to foot an increased bill since April after the YMCA pulled their support for the club’s 40-strong swimming squad.
Mr Murphy, who started the YMCA swim school in 1969 and has been involved in the Ballarat Aquatic Centre since its creation in 1995, said the centre’s current lack of focus on providing services to the community had the potential to drive people away from swimming.
“When you add new swimmers to the program and they find that the costs are so high they give it a second thought,” Mr Murphy said.
The comments came after the Ballarat City Council held secret talks around YMCA’s “outstanding debt” at Wednesday night’s council meeting.
Mayor Des Hudson declined to comment on the agenda item, saying the talks regarding contractual matters were confidential.
In September the YMCA handed back management of the Ballarat Aquatic Centre just three years into a 10-year contract, with the decision said to be a mutual agreement.
YMCA Ballarat chief executive officer Stephen Bendle said the matter was “not about debt”. “It’s about last financial period which ended in June so its got nothing to do with what happened in September or yesterday.”
The 200 staff members employed by the YMCA will be transferred over to the City of Ballarat and have been assured there will be no job losses from the contract change.
