Ashburton's swim coach is changing lanes from a district council-funded role to a contractor.
The Ashburton District Council voted on Wednesday to stop funding the Ashburton swim squad by June 28, with an “external provider” to step in.
That external provider is Jeff Gould, who has been coaching the Ashburton Swim Team for the last five years.
“I become the contractor, so instead of paying the council, the parents will pay me as a business," Gould said.
“It's a simple move to ensure that swimming at the next level can continue for the kids in Mid Canterbury.
“It’s a positive outcome for everyone, and the council have been really good through this process.”
The only changes will be administrative, he said.
Gould remains the coach, and people still go swimming, but will “pay different people and receive emails from a different source”.
Ashburton Swim Team secretary Samantha Bentley said from the committee’s perspective, “there are no changes to the service we provide”.
“Our swimmers will continue to receive the same level of support and care, with the only difference being that we will now be working with Jeff rather than the council.”
The council held a short consultation on the proposal to stop the funding earlier this year and received 12 submissions, including nine (75%) from current squad members or their parents.
The staff report stated that despite 63.6% of submitters did not support the proposal but people and facilities group manager Sarah Mosley believed the results would have been different had they been able to say an external provider would be taking over.
“If they weren’t happy with the arrangement, I would suspect, as the committee that oversees that sporting body, that they would be sharing their point of view.”
Cr Deb Gilksison was pleased a provider was taking over to continue “to take kids up to that next level and utilising the EA Networks Centre, because at the end of the day, we've got an asset, we want it to be used.”
Councillor Tony Todd was also in support, as he said the council doesn’t support any other sport financially for paying or providing coaches.
EA Networks Centre manager Richard Wood said that “without going into commercial details” they had come to an arrangement around lane hire.
When the council took over the operation of the Ashburton Community Pool and subsequently moved to EA Networks Centre, existing squad coaching staff transferred across.
The council continued to offer the Swim Squad Programme through the employment of a swim coach.
Following a review of its operation, cost, and the council’s future role, the proposal to cut funding was considered in public on December 17.
The proposal was made public in January to engage affected employees, squad families and wider stakeholders.
