The following article was published in todays AGE Newspaper today. It includes quotes from SP Councillor Stephen Jolly.
SWIMMERS at Melbourne’s best pools are set to be locked out during one of the hottest months, to make way for 2000 athletes training for the FINA World Swim Championships.

In March, competitors from 175 countries will come to Melbourne to compete in the World Championships being staged in two temporary pools at Rod Laver Arena, at Albert Park’s Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre and St Kilda beach.

But athletes in the five sports — swimming, ocean swimming, water polo, synchronised swimming and diving — will need exclusive access to training venues from March 12 until the end of the month.

Many pools will close for up to eight hours a day so athletes can train.

Two public pools, Fitzroy and Richmond, have agreed to allow athletes exclusive use of pools. The pools will close in four-hour blocks so the public is not locked out all day. Melbourne High School and Victoria University have also signed on, and at least six other pools across Melbourne are likely to join in.

City of Yarra councillor Stephen Jolly said closing community pools for elite sports sent a mixed message. “We are trying to get kids to live a healthy lifestyle, and then we kick them out of the pool the first time we get a call from a few swim stars,” he said.

By CLAY LUCAS, Melbourne