Season ends this weekend Sponsors' associations call for longer outdoor pool season in Bonn

Bad Godesberg · After 4 September, the outdoor pools in Bonn close and the indoor season begins. Three associations think that the outdoor pools should stay open longer. However, the baths department of the city of Bonn has a different opinion.

 The Rüngsdorf open-air swimming pool has been open again since last Thursday after a forced break of several days.

The Rüngsdorf open-air swimming pool has been open again since last Thursday after a forced break of several days.

Foto: Axel Vogel

If it were up to the Panoramabad Rüngsdorf booster club, Bonn's outdoor pool season would not end after 4 September in view of the continuing good weather. Several members have contacted the GA and expressed their incomprehension about the announcement of the Bonn crisis team that they do not want to extend any of the open-air pools. The background to this is the feared shortage of energy supplies throughout Germany this winter and the resulting cost-cutting measures by the city, which not only affect the outdoor pools.

Support association member Jan Reche commented: "Bad Godesberg is threatened with a period without a swimming pool, as the Friesdorf (indoor) pool is closed. The weather forecast is still good. And the recent school enrolment has again shown that there are many children who have never seen the inside of a swimming pool during their primary school years. That's where every week with a pool within easy reach could definitely help many a school." Annette van Edig said, "I can very well understand the argument of saving energy, however, with so many baths closed, a very large amount is already saved. Therefore, the city should at least keep the Panoramabad open as long as possible.“

"The only opportunity in Bad Godesberg"

The chairman of the booster club Jürgen Huber said: "The Rüngsi is the only opportunity in the whole district of Bad Godesberg to go swimming." The chairmen of the associations "Freibad Freunde Friesdorf" and "Unser Melbbad" also think that the city administration should react flexibly to the good weather. Both Rafael Röger (Friesdorf) and Achim Dehnen (Melbbad) and Huber think that Friends of the Bathing Culture "have already involuntarily done their bit to save energy," says Dehnen.

He is referring on the one hand to the closed "Friesi", which will not be available this winter because of a leaking pool liner. In the indoor season, it has been covered with an air dome in recent years since the Kurfürstenbad was closed. And on the other hand, the Melbbad is closed because the Tüv has not allowed the continued operation of the dilapidated functional rooms. It will probably not be available again until 2027.

A few weeks ago, Bonn's CDU councillor group had already brought up the idea of extending the outdoor pool season. The chairman of the sports committee, David Lutz, said: "As a direct measure, against the background of the cancelled indoor pool season for the Friesdorf pool and the closed Kurfürstenbad, "the outdoor pool season should be extended until the end of September and not, as decided by the Mayor, end earlier than planned on 4 September“.

CDU Bad Godesberg launches petition

The Bad Godesberg CDU has meanwhile launched the petition "Extend the outdoor swimming pool season until the end of September!" on the platform "Open Petition", which found 455 supporters by Monday afternoon. Such a petition has no binding character. If the necessary quorum of 1000 votes is reached, the initiators of the page will ask the Lord Mayor to take a stand on the matter.

Bonn public baths office: crisis team against extension of outdoor pool season

The Bonn Bäderamt points out that the open-air swimming pool season will not be ended prematurely. "It usually lasts until the end of August, this year it ends on 4 September," said the deputy head of the baths office, Elke Palm. And further: "The crisis team of the city of Bonn has decided not to extend the outdoor pool season because in September the temperatures drop so far, especially at night, that we would have to additionally heat with gas." The Rüngsdorf open-air pool has already been heated in the past. The additional consumption for 14 days was about as high as the consumption needed by a family of three throughout the year. So far this summer, the city has dispensed with heating completely.

According to Palm, the number of visitors is already noticeably decreasing. "The pools are only really full when it is very hot and sunny. If we stop heating the pools in September, experience shows that only very few adult swimmers come." Palm refers to the indoor pools, which reopen after the end of the outdoor pool season. The new opening hours take into account early morning swimming.

Mayor Katja Dörner had justified energy-saving measures such as throttling air-conditioning and maximum temperatures in winter, as well as cold water at hand-washing sinks in administrative buildings, saying: "Every kilowatt hour of electricity and gas saved helps to cope with the difficult times we are facing." Palm stressed that it was not about financial savings, but about helping to cope with the looming energy crisis: "The protest against the closure of the outdoor pools is incomprehensible, to say the least, against this background."

(Original text: Philipp Königs; Translation: Mareike Graepel)
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