AC Baths reaches capacity in summer holidays
The AC Baths hit a record for the summer of 2018/19 last month with over 1200 people through the facility in one day.
January 15 was the busiest day of the summer so far with 1226 people through the facility, however there were plenty of busy days last month with an average of 812 per day.
Pool operations supervisor Ryno Nienaber said the busyness on January 15 meant staff had to let one person in for every one person out for a period due to reaching capacity. It reflected a busy summer for the complex, which came after nearly quarter of a million visitors in 2018.
“It’s been another great year for the AC Baths culminating in a busy December/January holiday period,” he said. “We had 238,643 people through the doors in 2018 which is fantastic.”
Along with Taupō’s pool complex, the Turangi Turtle Pools and Mangakino pool had also been popular this summer. A total of 3,431 people visited the Turangi Turtle Pools in December, including 272 local under five year olds who visited for free under the council’s new policy. Last year during the same period, 203 under five year olds visited.
Turangi pool supervisor Suzanne Watson said it was a great reflection of how the policy was working for Turangi. “To see an increase of nearly 70 children able to access the pools is fantastic,” she said.
At the AC Baths, 1,291 local children five and under were able to take advantage of the free entry in December, with a total of 7,059 since July 1 2018, when free entry for the age group was introduced. Combined with children from out of town, 2,147 attended in December, compared to 1732 in December 2017 when there was still a cost for local children five and under.
Children five and under living in the Taupō District and a caregiver are able to access any of the three community pools for free.
February 28, 2019.