The Novo mesto pool acquired a pool lift for the disabled with the support of the VARCITIES project
date: 26. 02. 2024
On February 14, 2024, the Novo mesto swimming pool officially received a lift for access to the water, which enables people with mobility impairments to enjoy the benefits of movement in the water. The Municipality of Novo mesto fully financed the i-Swim mobile swimming pool lift for the disabled worth over EUR 10,000 with the support of the VARCITIES project.
The pool lift for the disabled was handed over to the Novo mesto Swimming Pool by the President of the Slovenian Paralympic Committee Damijan Lazar, the President of the Association of Paraplegics of Dolenjska, Bela Krajina and Posavje Jože Okoren and the Mayor of the Municipality of Novo mesto Gregor Macedoni. The use of the pool lift was demonstrated by paraswimmer Aleš Sečnik, the world record holder in his category.
By building a covered 25-meter swimming pool, which began operating on September 1 last year, the Municipality of Novo mesto fulfilled the long-standing dream of Novo mesto residents to swim recreationally and participate in swimming sports in their hometown. A swimming pool with a covered velodrome and an athletics hall, as well as extensive areas for training in nature, forms the Novo mesto Olympic Centre, which was always conceived as a comprehensive sports and recreation complex, which, on the one hand, with top-class sports facilities, functions as a national training centre for cycling, athletics and triathlon, on the other hand, it wants to encourage all citizens to enjoy quality leisure time, recreation and exercise with diverse indoor and outdoor areas for exercise.
Special attention in the Olympic centre is given to people with various disabilities. For example, a sensory path for the blind and partially sighted has been established near the equestrian centre, which provides hippotherapy, and the swimming pool was originally built to be accessible to the disabled. The pool lift further facilitates access to the water for the physically challenged, and it is not only for disabled people in wheelchairs, but also for disabled people on crutches, splints, for the elderly and for other physically challenged people, for whom the professional staff of the Olympic Center Novo mesto is at their disposal for assistance in getting in and out of the pool. As the president of the Association of Paraplegics of Dolenjska, Bela Krajina and Posavje, Jože Okoren, pointed out, for the vast majority of disabled people, swimming, exercising in water and performing physiotherapy are an important part of maintaining health at all ages. Swimming is very beneficial for them, both in terms of rehabilitation and as one of the most important special social programs for the disabled. It is known, however, that swimmers are also "born" from amateur and recreational swimming - athletes who are in the competitive process and are also placed in national teams, and also perform at the Paralympic Games.
» We are happy that during the half year of operation, Novo mesto Swimming Pool has become well known to local and national sports clubs, who use its facilities on a daily basis, that children from Novo mesto schools and kindergartens, as well as children from more distant places, are regular guests and that more and more individuals choose recreational swimming. Even more, we want to bring the swimming pool and the entire Olympic Centre closer to population groups that are not so close to playing sports, with a special emphasis on the healthy development of young people, on improving the quality of life of the elderly population and on raising the quality of life of vulnerable groups, with various group's very specific mobility needs and challenges," said Deputy Mayor of Novo mesto Urban Kramar when handing over the elevator and pointed out the guiding principle of the VARCITIES project that only when the infrastructure takes on a human dimension will its purpose be fulfilled.
"We hope that with the purchase of a pool lift for the disabled, we have added to this human dimension and contributed to the fact that the Novo mesto Swimming Pool is even more accessible, even more friendly," the deputy mayor concluded his speech and invited disabled people from the region and the whole of Slovenia to use the pool. Only five other swimming pools in Slovenia have such special lifts for the disabled to descend into the water.
As part of the event, a video on the use of the pool lift was also recorded with the funds of the VARCITIES project.
