How important is it to be close to a swimming pool? Most municipalities in Östergötland have at least one swimming pool. In Boxholm with its 5000 inhabitants there is a swimming pool and in Norrköping there are as many as four swimming pools. In other municipalities, such as Söderköping with its almost 15,000 inhabitants, there is no swimming pool. This is also the case in Åtvidaberg, where the swimming pool issue was one of the biggest talking points ahead of the 2022 election.
"There used to be a swimming pool here. When you're used to having one, you miss it more," says Åtvidaberg resident Göran Skog.
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SVT Nyheter's survey shows that there may be a link between the proximity to a swimming pool and children's swimming ability. In several municipalities where there is no swimming pool, a large proportion of sixth graders have difficulty meeting the knowledge requirement in sports related to swimming: "The pupil handles emergencies on land and by water and swims 200 meters in a row, of which 50 meters in the supine position."
3 out of 20 sixth graders miss a passing grade in sports in Åtvidaberg municipality. But according to the education administration, it is not linked to swimming skills. The administration writes in an email to SVT Nyheter Öst that last winter they had a dialogue with the municipality's principals. "We were then able to establish that lack of goal fulfillment regarding swimming is not the main reason why students did not achieve grade E in Sport and Health."
13-year-old Sara Berhe, from Åtvidaberg, believes that you get better at swimming if you live near a swimming pool.
"It's good to have a swimming pool here. Those who can't swim can go there and learn it," says Sara Berhe.
Several parties in Åtvidaberg have pushed the issue of building a new swimming pool in Åtvidaberg and now the political majority has agreed to investigate the issue.
Hear more voices from Åtvidaberg in the player above.