It's always nice to take a dip in the pool during the summer, but not everyone has access to it. Some municipalities do not have public swimming pools, and private ones are often out of reach, or too expensive.
For some months, Aqwa itinéris France has developed a project that brings swimming pools to bathers instead of the other way around: the goal? Making swimming accessible to children, teaching it in an itinerant way.
What is a mobile swimming pool?
This swimming pool, which looks like a normal truck, is now located in Vigy, France, opened its doors in mid-August and will be available to the children entrusted to Secours Populaire until the end of October. To see it it looks like a parked truck, but it is a full-blown swimming pool: 8 meters long, 2 meters wide and 1,20m deep. Perfect for children and respectful of the same health rules as a municipal swimming pool.
In a confined space there is practically everything: a system that raises or lowers the bottom of the pool, toilets, changing rooms and shower.
Vigy's children will be able to learn to swim or improve themselves in a safe and versatile place, in small groups and in sessions of approximately 45 minutes.
I want it in schools. And I'm not the only one
Armel Chabane, vice president of the Moselle departmental council (the French region that includes the municipality concerned by the project), bringing the swimming pool to school is essential. Today 40% of pupils entering sixth grade cannot swim, and lacks an important physical activity, which offers many benefits.
Swimming is a life-saving skill and it is important that children learn to swim from an early age. Drowning is the leading cause of death for children under the age of five and is one of the top 10 causes of death for children aged 1 to 14.
A beautiful piece of the future
Vigy's experiment will last through the summer, and if the tests are positive, the department will acquire a truck to bring the pool and swimming to the schools. Is it a good idea or not? A round of applause Alexandre Buisson and his two sons for developing a vehicle that, if the authorities are clever, we will surely hear about in the future.
If you want more information you can find everything on the website of Aqwa itinéris France.
