Lifting Covid-19 restrictions on swimming has been long overdue

Despite the presidential directive to lift the suspension on sports, some of the guidelines to manage the Covid-19 outbreak have proven a hindrance to the return of some of sports activities, especially swimming.

The biggest bone of contention across all sports is the requirement to test our athletes and other relevant officials every two weeks. A test costs one average Shs185,000 which by our standards is expensive.

Swimming employs over 150 registered coaches and teachers under our body Uganda Swimming Coaches Association (Usca) and over 200 beach and pool guards under Uganda Lifesaving Federation (ULF) so the continued closure of pools since March can only make the financial situation worse.

That said, Uganda Swimming Federation (USF) boasts of over 600 swimmers engaged at different levels and these would appreciate a dip in the pool amid the stress of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Unfortunately, the continued suspension of the sport has led to cancellation of the entire USF calendar, which has affected major events such as hosting the regional Cana Zone III Championships.

Such things put swimmers that were in the thick of preparation at a risk of mental breakdown.
However, we can salvage something by returning to training given that 2021 will also be heavy on activities that we should already be preparing for.

Fortunately, there is no evidence that Covid-19 spreads through the water in pools because chlorine kills SARS COV-2 and also keeps viral particles from floating around the pool.

“Chlorine helps provide oxidation necessary to bond with the killed coronavirus so it can be trapped by the filters to keep the water clean,” says Jody Gan, an aquatics researcher and professor of Public Health at an American University in Washington.

Therefore, pool staff need to chlorinate 24/7 and P.H levels hourly. But this is something we were observing even before Covid-19 was an issue.

But even if chlorine provides some protection in water, the major concern would be on how to handle swimmers and officials in the precincts of the pool.

Since we usually use public pools, we can enforce safety practices like wearing masks, sanitising and distancing from anyone in the pool who is not part of a given club. It is also best to avoid close-contact games with balls since they could discourage social distancing.

Swimmers should skip post swim showers and buying foodstuffs at public pools as this would make social distancing difficult. Showering in an indoor space is little dicey. There might be a high risk of spreading covid-19 due to stagnant air while you may also be close to people who are much less likely to wear a mask.

Actually pool owners may also reduce in-pool and on deck capacity allowances. Now isn’t the best time to lounge on the pool decks so we advise that you remove the lounge chairs and tables for that reason.

With these as main guidelines, we can attain a win-win situation, where the sport can return while most importantly minimizing the risk of spreading Covid-19 to our swimmers.

Mr Kiiza is the chairman of Uganda Swimming Coaches Association. Email: [email protected]