Exclusion of Amea: Need for two-speed society

Exclusion of PWDs from public swimming pools.

• The licensing of public swimming pools, and according to your agency's interpretation of the law, requires that access stairs to pools be located outside the perimeter of the pool.
• As is well known, most swimming pools awaiting licensing are existing with internal ladders. In order to build stairs outside the contour, it is necessary to cut the perimeter insulated reinforced concrete walls, which is technically impossible. So the owners are forced to place vertical metal ladders on the walls.
• These metal ladders are impossible to use by people with mobility problems and A.M.E.A. depriving them of access to the pools.
• I was also informed that according to your agency's interpretation of the law and in order to license swimming pools, it does not allow the construction of access ramps to swimming pools.
• The reasoning that was proposed to me is that the law does not provide for disabled ramps, so they are prohibited. As an alternative solution, it was proposed to investigate whether swimming pools with disabled ramps can be licensed as thalassotherapy centers or other types of therapeutic centers.

Based on the above, the following questions are posed:

1. What exactly is the definition of the pool contour, how is it defined and who defines it?
2. Is it the job of the engineer to define the technical features and operation of your pool or your service employees who are neither engineers nor have technical training?
3. It is the intent of the legislature, the policy of your department, or the policy of your agency to deny access and use of public swimming pools to persons with disabilities.
4. Is it really the position of your service that: what is not provided is prohibited?
5. Is it the position of your service that since the use of the swimming pools by the disabled is not foreseen, it is prohibited?
6. Is it your agency's position that PWDs can use treatment center pools but not public swimming pools?
7. Is it ultimately the role of your service to take care of the disabled or, on the contrary, to systematically exclude them from society?
8. Is the role of your service to find and propose solutions or under the pretext that, "what is not provided for, it is prohibited" to exclude social groups and activities?
9. Is your service up to date on the dozens of community directives that they establish?

Questions awaiting answers…

Saltamanikas Nikolas
Your AQUA spot program manager
Graduated from the Department of Science of Physical Education & Sports of the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens /Ed. Swimming of all categories

Master, Physical Education (Sport Management) LUC
FOUNDER / www.pool-about.gr / Pool ABOUT SALON - EXPO
nikos.saltamanikas@gmail.com