Thea Konijn said it wasn’t until after she had paid for a swim at the centre that she discovered the pool was closed.
“I paid for a swim I could not have,” she said.
She accused the district council of not adequately informing people of the closure, prompting it to defend its public relations on the matter and apologise at the same time.
Konijn said she did not want to use the centre’s new 25m pool, as it was too crowded early in the morning while swimming clubs used half the lanes.
She believes many fellow swimmers would be disappointed as well, particularly with the timing of the maintenance falling in the school holidays.
Active Selwyn manager James Richmond confirmed the programmes pool was closed for maintenance until May 1.
Richmond said school holidays are a significantly quieter time for that particular pool, with about a 20 per cent decrease in users a day.
He said the public was informed about the closure via signage at the facility and social media channels.
“We usually find this the best way, but apologise if we missed the mark on this occasion,” Richmond said.
“Pool closures are something we like to avoid. However, we aim to time them to minimise the impacts to as many customers as possible.”
