Lawmaker Che Sai Wang has called for more swimming pools for teaching classes to cope with the recent Lin Fong Swimming Pool constraints.
A week or so prior to this written inquiry by the lawmaker, Che’s parliamentary colleague Ron Lam held a press conference with swimming coaches and pool users so they could express their demands.
Weeks ago, the government suddenly announced that all swimming classes offered at Lin Fong Swimming Pool – including healthcare classes for seniors – would be terminated to make way for the opening up of the facility.
The decision has prompted objections from users, especially senior residents, who attended classes for health reasons.
Lin Fong is the only local swimming pool accredited for swimming classes with accessible equipment that caters to the needs of seniors and the aurally or mentally disabled. Government-operated swimming pools are closed to private swimming classes.
While pointing out that more people have become aware of physical and mental benefits of physical exercise, Che noted that the small sporting grounds in Macau has inevitably forced players of different sports to practice on the same grounds. This may cause tension between different players who are in need of suitable space for their practice, according to the lawmaker.
In his inquiry, Che pointed out that the local per-person sporting ground area in 2022 was less than 60% of the national figure for the same apparatus. The local figure was 1.53 sqm/person, a rise of 0.18 sqm/person from 2017.
As such, he asked if the government would consider building more multi-sports buildings to cater to the needs of players of different sports. Meanwhile, he also asked if the government would consider restructuring or building swimming pools that can facilitate swimming classes.
When it was also disclosed that some coaches had become unemployed due to the Lin Fong constraints, Che asked if the government could relocate these professionals to retain talent.
