News

Just a reminder that Shirley Swimming Pool will be closed on both bank holidays in May on Monday 3rd, and Monday 31st.

The reception team are busy issuing make up token to all of the kids in lessons on these dates, so you should be able to book you make up lessons online shortly. Booking can be made by logging into our self service website.

If you’ve forgotten your username or password, drop us an email at info@shirleyswimmingpool.co.uk and we will send you a password reset.

Following on from the government update on the next stage of the road map, we can confirm that the main pool and learner pool will be open from Monday 12th April.

All swimming lessons will resume as will adult lane swimming sessions, which can be booked now.

Adult swimming lessons, as well as aquafit will resume in the next stage of the roadmap, on May 17th.

Additionally, we have family bubble swimming sessions available for your household or support bubble, through the week from 12th April. Just £25 for members, you will have access to a section of our main pool for recreational swimming for 45 minutes, for up to 6 people. Booking now!

The government has released a four step roadmap to the reopening of all businesses and education settings through the spring and into summer.

As an indoor setting, Shirley Swimming Pool will be allowed to reopen in the third wave, no earlier than the 12th April 2021.

Calls have come from Jane Nickerson, Swim England chief executive, to stop swimming pools being pushed back in the case of rising infections.

“Pools are so valuable. They teach us how to be safe in and around water and help us protect others who may be in danger. They give families the perfect opportunity to enjoy getting active together in a way that very few other indoor sports can and they help those battling with a range of debilitating health conditions which helps save the NHS and social care system more than £357 million a year.”

You can support the petition to reopen our pools by clicking the link in the Swim England Article.

There is, however, light at the end of what has been a long and often dark tunnel. With vaccination levels continuing to rise, it is likely that as the weather warms up, there will be a local swimming pool on hand to cool off in.

All members will receive an email in the coming weeks, with further details of the reopening of the pool and the restart of memberships and swimming lessons.

On Boxing Day, Southampton along with the rest of Hampshire, was placed into tier 4 of government covid restrictions. This requires the closure of all indoor sports facilities, including swimming pools.

Shirley Swimming Pool will remain closed until the restrictions are reviewed, or Southampton returns to a lower tier.

Stay safe, and hopefully we will see you soon.

Following the government announcements on Monday, we can confirm that Shirley Swimming Pool will be open on Wednesday 2nd December from 0730.

The latest government advice is that leisure centres and swimming pools will be allowed to remain open in all of the three proposed tiers.

All baby, preschool and after school lessons will continue as before, with the same covid measures in place.

Lane swimmers can start booking in for sessions now through our online booking site. Any problems with logging in, the reception team will be on hand to pick up emails next week.

Following the new national restrictions brought in on 05/11/2020, we have been required to close until further notice. We aim to reopen when the proposed easing takes place in early December.

All members that have paid their membership fees for November, will have nothing to pay when we reopen in December.

Any lane swims that have been booked will be put back onto your account to be used in the future, and all lesson absence make up’s will be extended through December.

Thank you for your continued support through these ongoing challenges, and we hope to see you really soon for some festive swimming!

If you’re looking to come along for the odd lane swim or attend one of our Aquafit classes, we’ve made booking even easier for you.

Click on this link and login if you’re a member, or register if you’re not. Select the session you want on the calendar, where there’s a space, and book your place and pay online with a credit or debit card buy ‘selecting a package’ for the option you’re choosing (lane swim or Aquafit).

Nice and easy, takes just a few minutes to do.

If lockdown, Covid -19 and socially distanced changing rooms weren’t enough to cope with, throw in a tropical storm. Storm Ellen swept through Shirley yesterday, upending the recently constructed Pool marquee.

Friendly neighbours Jenny and Francis Gallagher were woken by their dog, Odie, as he heard Storm Ellen pick up the pool marquee and send it crashing around the car park. The Gallaghers’ were quickly up and over the road, dismantling the flying tent. “At one point it was in the road and then on the roof of the pool” said Francis, “Who knows what damage it could have caused”

Pool boss Luke Perry was relieved that the damage was limited, ” I’m really grateful for such great neighbours, that marquee takes four men to lift and it was flying around like a Millets play tent by all accounts.There is a big juicy bone on its way to Odie”

The marquee had only been up for a week and was being used as a temperature testing area for children coming to swimming lessons. It also provided a dry waiting area for parents.

“I think that is the end of the party tent. For years it has been used to host the staff party in the garden with bands like Dead freights and The Black Cat Boppers” said Luke, ” We will have to buy some new gazebos. Not sure about the Christmas party …”

The Storm is the latest blow to the popular Shirley Pool as they struggle to cope with re-opening under the strict Covid restrictions. With limited changing room space, lesson sizes have been reduced to just 4 children per teacher, limiting the number of spaces available.

Originally built in 1974, the pool has survived several recessions and been rebuilt twice. ” It is the only purpose built teaching centre of its kind in the country”, said retiring owner Dave Perry, ” We have survived all sorts of turmoil over the years, a little wind won’t bother us”

It’s been great to see so many of you signing up and getting your hands on the new app. As so many of you have started using it, some delays have emerged in processing information and we’ve received a number of enquiries, a few common questions are answered below.

Your Account:

As well as the app, you can log on to your account by using this link once you log on, you may find it easier to navigate to see your schedule. Click here to view some helpful tips on navigating and updating your account. If you forget your password to your account, please let our reception team know and they can email you a link to reset your password. Your username will be what you have chosen when you accepted the invite.

Reporting an absence / booking in a make-up:

Once you have marked yourself as ‘early cancel/reschedule’ it sends a notification to our reception team who then assign you your make up tokens.

You will not be able to re-book the make up session until we have done so. Usually we can action these immediately, but for August we ask that you follow up with an email to request a token as we know not everyone will want to re-book during their holidays.

How to see my class schedules on the app?

When you have downloaded the Memberme+ app, please make sure you have clicked the menu bar on the top left of the page, and in ‘settings’ log in using the username and password that you created. Once logged in, use the menu bar and select ‘bookings’. This will show you the day and time of your upcoming lessons.

How do I see my schedule on the app?

When you download the app please sign in first and you can then see your schedule.

I can’t re-book my lesson for another day?

At the moment we are asking members to report their absence if you are unable to attend in August. If you would like to book into an alternative day/time in August, we will need to issue you a makeup token, once you receive this you can book into an alternative class using up the token. Please email us if you would like to be issued a token as we won’t be automatically issuing everyone one as they may not want one if they are away.

Am I being charged for August?

No, lessons in August are free, your first direct debit is 1st September. If you see an invoice for August on your account, please ignore, these will be removed shortly.

What if I’m not ready to return yet?

Please email us and let us know as we can freeze your account for a couple of months, until such time you wish to return.

I haven’t received an invite?

Please check your inbox, promotions, junk and spam inboxes first. If you still haven’t received an invite please email us and we can check we have your correct details on our system. (We have received a high volume of emails over the past few days so we apologise if there is a delay in responding).

Can I change my class on a permanent basis?

This would need to be done through reception as previously arranged. You can email us your membership details and with your preferred change of class and we can update for you.You can view the classes on your account to get an idea of the spaces available.

Is the price of the lessons changing with class times being reduced?

No, the lesson prices remain the same. We have redesigned our lesson structure with more focused practices and shorter play times whilst still maintaining the play element essential to a child’s learning. This means we are able to deliver the same consistent and high-quality lesson in a 20 minute period. These changes will make your time at the pool shorter, with social distancing easy to maintain, without compromising the quality of the lessons. If you feel that you want more time and attention for your child, enquire about private, one to one lessons.

My Instructor has changed / I can’t find out regular Instructor on the app?

A couple of our Instructors aren’t coming back until September (AJ & Jess) so we have some of our other Instructors covering their classes. This may mean that your usual Instructor may be covering their classes so for a couple of weeks can not cover their own. Babs will be back teaching Beginners from September but will be covering P&C Tue PM instead and Finlay, our weekend Instructor, will be covering Beginners for a couple of weeks. The P&C classes on a Tuesday afternoon will go back to Jess from September as AJ was covering her maternity leave last year. All classes will have the Instructor listed so you can always see who is teaching. There is the potential that your Instructor may have changed due to the change of our lesson schedules, however we have done out best to retain you in your previous class with your Instructor, however this has not always been possible. To find out more about your Instructor you can visit our website ‘Our Team’.

How I book for Lane Swimming?

If you are a direct debit Lane swimmer, you will have been issued some tokens on your account for August, you can use these to book in where there are spaces. If you would like to book a lane swim as a one off, please call Reception to pay and book in. We are continuing to work on our new software and soon you will be able to pay online for individual lane swimming.

We hope this additional information helps and thank you for your continued support and patience.

Our reception team will be more than happy to help on

02380 781901 from 10am-6pm Monday to Friday.

Alternatively, email info@shirleyswimmingpool.co.uk and we will respond as soon as we can.