'Pools teach kids to survive': Tamworth City Swimming Club reacts with 'disappointment' to adventure pool plans

But the local swimming community fears that purpose could be lost, if plans to transform the Tamworth Olympic Pool site into a $12 million adventure pool are prioritised before a new aquatic centre.

Tamworth City Swimming Club committee member Andrew Pearson said while swimming is a lifestyle and a sport, most importantly it teaches kids to stay alive in the water.

"I can't help as a father feel like that message is getting lost," he said.

"We are a big sporting organisation with elite swimmers, but we start at the base level which is how to teach kids how to swim and survive in the water.

"Especially in rural communities where we have dams and water tanks."

Tamworth Regional Council has released new concept designs for a Tamworth Adventure Pool with a lagoon-style pool, a splash play area and cafe, which would see the current 50m pool demolished.

The council's plans to redevelop the city pool site coincide with a proposed $60 million Tamworth Regional Aquatics and Leisure Centre adjoining the Sports Dome.

It would include a 50m year-round pool, learn-to-swim pool and rehabilitation pool.

The plans were officially unveiled on Thursday morning, with council touting the tourism and community benefits of the plan.

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Councillors will go out to the community over the coming weeks to ask what it thinks of the plans, as part of another round of consultation.

But Tamworth City Swimming club president Narelle Burke said the community is sick of consultation on this issue.

"We're very disappointed that they plan to close this pool and put the whole swimming community into the one pool," she said.

"As it is, we have to share that facility at the beginning and the end of the season and there's always problems, there's just not enough pool space.

"In Tamworth, we have grown our swimming teams and the water polo team and we've worked very hard to develop swimming."

The swimming community was first consulted in 2018, she said, and made it "very clear" they wanted an indoor and outdoor 50 metre pool at the new aquatic centre, but a lagoon was "never mentioned".

Mr Pearson said while the club isn't against a community leisure facility, at the end of the day "we need our pools".

"I'm a former police officer and have witnessed tragedy," he said.

"We need to teach our kids to survive, everything else comes after that."

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