Due to identified structural problems and in the interest of public safety Thurles Swimming Pool and Health Suite continues to remain closed until further notice.
Management and staff at the Centre apologise for this unavoidable inconvenience and promise to post updates as soon as new information becomes available.
Thurles Swimming Pool Update
Recently re-elected Tipperary FF Councillor Mr Seamus Hanafin has stated that specialist engineers have now examined Thurles Swimming Pool since Monday of last week and have taken away samples of Tiles, Adhesives, Grout and other Compounds for further analysis. Their report is imminent and should identify both cause and solution to this disappointing problem.
Councillor Hanafin has stated “I have been assured that Council Officials are treating this problem with extreme urgency and are anxious to have the Pool re-opened as quickly as possible. However it is imperative for all concerned that a proper and permanent solution be now identified. To this end therefore no time frame for the pool reopening is available just at the moment.”
Please note: The excellent Gym facilities at this fine Health Venue will still remain operating as normal and customers can avail of discounted ‘Pay As You Go’ rates, which will reflect the temporary closure of the pool.
So do please direct all enquiries to reception (Telephone 0504-58640) or keep an eye on their website by clicking HERE.
As a person with a membership for one of my children I am disappointed to see these faults occur in the early life of what is a new structure, but hopefully it will be resolved soon, and the reasons for the faults published.
Also we have the only gym/leisure centre that you cannot pay to use the gym separately from the pool. I brought this to the attention of staff a few years ago only to be told that it would be hard to police.ie people using the gym might go and have a free swim lol, very lame excuse. Have we not heard of different colour wrist bands being used on payment. Same would decide what facility the customer wishes to use, or why not hand stamps etc. Management, just to tell you, €13 just to use your gym is outlandish and a complete rip off nearly all other centres in Tipperary and around Ireland charge between €6 to €7 just to use the gym on a day visit. So think on guys, lower your rates and get your instructors, not all, to stop playing games on the computer upstairs and get more involved with the customer who pay your wages and keep the leisure centre open, because looking at it and the way its been managed, closure is not too far away.
As a member myself I understand the frustration we’re all having, not knowing the problem and so forth but Andrew quite frankly I’m not sure you understand how a business works. The centre is clearly under financial pressure to stay open and now will have additional costs for this issue, which I would assume is not a cheap fix, so should we not rally around and support them instead of posting discouraging remarks that will lead to customers choosing to go elsewhere. I cannot comment on the staff “playing games” but if you firmly believe that the customers are in fact paying the wage of the staff then what do you think would happen to their wages if the company were to drop the rates?!? If you find the rates too expensive then would it not make financial sense for you to join as a member? I do agree that €13 is a little steep but that’s why I signed up for membership. I’m no business expert but surely anyone can see that lowering the usage/membership fees would only add to the financial burden,there is no guarantee of new business with a price drop so chances are you that you would continue operating with the same amount of customers but just lower your profit margin even more. Did I read correctly in The Examiner that the centre is in debt of €108,000? It is up to us the public to ensure we continue to support our local facilities, which I know at present is hard to do if you’re a swimmer, but when the pool is back up and running we need to stop taking it for granted and actually get off our bottoms and use the facilities or we just might end up having no leisure centre at all.
Aisling, as a paying customer that uses leisure centres all over the country I can assure you firstly I do support the town leisure centre. It is a fantastic resource for thurles town. Secondly the €13 fee is for gym and swim, but if you want to use the gym on its own the cost is the same €13, this is not only a little steep but for gym users only it is outlandish and actually turns potential customers away. The rest of my points in previous comment are very valid. As for the debt the centre is in I cannot commemt. Just to let you know I have been involved in the fitness industry for 27 very successful years so understanding successful business is not a problem. But as for the centre I encourage all the people of Thurles to use it to improve their health and well-being, its also a great social part of being involved..stay healthy Aisling.
Can you please let me know when the swimming pool will reopen. I bought a property in Thurles last year and I looked at the facilities available when I was looking for properties. We now have to go to Kilkenny or Clonmel to swim which is more expensive.
Hi Kathy,
I will certainly let you know when the swimming pool reopens. In the meanwhile have you visited the Anner Hotel Leisure Center. http://www.annerhotel.ie/leisure-center.htm
Same might suffice for the moment at least.
The builder should be hung, drawn and quartered. Why do we put up with this kind of thing in Ireland. The Anner is not a proper pool by any stretch so I have to drive to Roscrea. We pay a lot of money in Ireland to swim in clean pools. You wouldn’t get this anywhere else.
When I lived in Thurles, I always supported the center but I would like to add my opinion having seen other gyms/pools around the country.
There’s a lot of cloak and dagger around this issue still coupled with fobbing off of members with valid questions about the pools repair .
Where’s the management’s letters to people on the status of the pool and membership extensions? If your membership was expiring you would receive a letter to pay a renewal fee fairly promptly. Dereliction of duty.
Andrew makes some very sound points. The 13 euro fee was utter extortion for people working out for usually at most 60mins.
Aisling, we all like to support our own but it’s ignorant to dismiss Andrew’s points as ‘discouraging’. What would you suggest, the typical say nothing Irish attitude of not rocking the boat? PC crap
Moreover your condescending tone about ‘not understanding how a business works’ is cheap and childish.
The center created most of its own problems prior to the tiles problem. I know plenty of people who supported the center all those years and were never incentivised to renew by even receiving a small token of gratitude the following year in the form of a discount. Maybe some people Aisling can’t afford an outlay of 500 euro on a years membership. Everyone has different circumstances.
Discounted memberships were granted to almost new customers only. Even if your membership was due to expire in a week, you weren’t allowed avail of these memberships if you were an existing member. Where’s the loyalty there? People are not fools and they’ll go where it suits their pocket. Furthermore, college students received discounted memberships and when there studies are completed they’ll move back to Leitrim and elsewhere. Furthermore with the college’s own gym to be completed in the year, students will leave and locals will still be alienated. The trouble all along was that a viable alternative didn’t exist. Surely it’s better to have some money coming in, than none at all?
Staff- Public relations are not a strong point of this business and arguably is down to the management’s own ethos/demeanor. The hiring policy leaves a lot to be desired. You run a business attached to healthcare and customer well-being yet employ SOME who would be better suited to abattoir work. Is the ‘no-smiling’ a company policy? I’ve been in several other centers where fitness instructors are friendly and asking people how they are getting on and offering motivation and tips. Yet here I’ve seen many examples of people of all ages in danger of injury being allowed to continue what they’re doing despite the presence of instructors. It’s not the job of fellow patrons to offer guidance. Lads, take the heads out of the computer screens,close Facebook and interact with people. And the mop and bucket doesn’t count as interacting. Try to create some semblance of job satisfaction. They’re only interaction shouldn’t be ‘we’re closing in 5 minutes ‘
Loyalty is a two way street
Who are you talking about Willie? Describe the person I am dying to know!
Of course public relations is vital when dealing with the public and it doesn’t cost much to give a smile. But I can’t imagine that it is easy for staff to work and not know if the centre will stay open or seeing trolls like Willie moan about them online. That is not very encouraging. To suggest that staff members are more suited to abattoir work is disgraceful.
Prices are very steep, which is one of the reasons I can’t use the centre very often, but there’s no point complaining on this site, if ye have problems about prices and staff make a formal complaint to the management of the centre and bring these issues to their attention. If there is a problem with management, perhaps a complaint should be made to the council. No point in complaining online, things won’t get done here.