Swimming pools & swimmers

I used to swim regularly at Livingstone Road when I worked across the road from the baths. I am certain that the deep end was 10 feet. I'm not sure how deep the small pool was but it was certainly less than that.

10'6" the deep end at Livi - used to go there for swimming lessons with Joe Soap. Used to cheat and keep one foot on the bottom. Walking in one day someone shoved me right into the deep end. I swam.

I'm fairly certain it was 10ft at the deep end When they went metric, they called it 3m

Disorganised. Joe Soap as in KHVIII art teacher? I used to do swimming in the summer as I didn't like cricket, but we went to the main baths. Went to Livingstone Road when I was at St Johns Primary back in the mid sixties though. Did a mile sponsored swim there too when I was at Henry's.

The small pool was 4ft 6in deep at it's centre and 3ft at each end.

I'm sure you are right as there were diving platforms at the far end so it must have been deeper than 6ft.

TonyS, yes, but we were trying to see who could stay down the longest, I was in tremendous pain in my ear, went to the hospital, young nurse said take down your trousers, 'ugh', she gave me a jab in my right buttock, and that was it. The outdoor pool at Blackpool was a 10 metre board, went off it once, that was enough. No one remember Roger Watkins at Livi, he was the top diver in the middle fifties. Somewhere sometime I was speaking to the British no.1 diver, name? He told me at that time the best boards for training were a pool in Wales, so when he left work on a Friday, he would pack a bag, travel to Wales at his expense, sleep in the changing rooms a couple of nights, do as much diving as they would allow him, travel back to London overnight on Sunday, he did tell me what was wrong with Highgate Pool (can't remember).

Deep end at Livingstone was 10ft. I used the boards every week end for about 10 years. Would have had more bumps on head if water was much less than 10ft deep.

Yes - first year at senior school 1965, swimming was held at Livi baths, the Sports Centre in town didn't open until 1966.

OK cheers for clearing that up. I was at Henry's 69-75. Joe Soap was quite character. I don't know how true it is, but scuttlebutt had it that he was a Commando in WWII.

South Street school never had a swimming pool, I think someone's got their wires crossed in that article.

The class was from South Street School. I suspect the baths were in Priory Street which was fairly close.

I never liked the Gosford baths, the water was always colder than any other water on the planet. If a polar bear was in the water it would have been no surprise to me. I only went there because I didn't want to appear to be a wimp in front of my friends. I like my comfort so it was usually Livingstone for me. Even the canals were warmer than Gosford Baths. Does anyone remember the slipper baths at Livingstone Rd?

I have memories of going to three swimming pools in Coventry, between the mid-1960s and mid-1980s: The first one was the main swimming baths in Coventry. I was a member of the Godiva Swimming Club (Tuesday evenings), and also the Massey-Ferguson (MF) Swimming Club (Monday evenings). This would have been in the mid-late 1960s. I think the MF sessions occurred in the smaller of the two main pools (the same area as the smaller children's pool), and I seem to recall that this was where I learned to swim. Later on, I can remember doing my bronze and silver 'personal survival' medals at Coventry Baths. Having to make a float out of pyjama bottoms, tread water for several minutes, and retrieve a rubber brick from 6 feet of water, all ring a bell. This would have been the early 1970s, and would have all taken place as part of my education at Finham Park Comprehensive School, in Green Lane. I can also recall taking part in several 'galas' at Coventry Baths, representing Finham Park, competing against teams from various Coventry secondary schools (early 1970s). Then, between the late-1970s and mid-1980s (after leaving school), I remember going to Coventry Baths on a regular basis on Saturday mornings, to swim lengths in the Olympic sized pool. I also attended an 'Aqua Fit' class there in the mid-1980s - I can remember brightly using brightly coloured floats, and various pop songs including 'It's Raining Men', by the Weathergirls being played very loudly, keeping us all in line! The second one was the (initially) outdoor pool at Finham Junior School in Green Lane. I think the pool was there when I started in about 1966, but, during my attendance the main focus of the Parents & Teachers' Association (PTA)'s fund raising activities was to raise enough money to build a permanent cover, which they did. I have a strong memory of doing a sponsored swim in the pool, to raise money for the cover. I think the pool has now been filled in. The last one was the outdoor pool in Green Lane, which I think was called 'The Oasis' (in the early 1970s, I believe it was previously known as 'Kenpas Swimming Pool'), and marketed as a 'Lido' at that time. As I remember the water was freezing cold (even in the hot summers), and the pool itself rather an irregular shape. TonyS has mentioned the roughness of the bottom of the pool, and I can certainly confirm that. Some years later the Oasis was demolished and turned into a small development of bungalows called 'Poolside Gardens'.

New 50m pool for Coventry