– This is the only swimming pool we have here. If they close this in winter, many people will not learn to sew. That’s what the fifth grader in Risør, Mathilde Birkeland Hovet, says. Together with her classmate Hanne Sjaavaag, she shows news the municipal sports building. They both sit on the student council and got involved after the municipal director proposed to close the hall for three months this winter. – They should think about the consequences before they decide this, says Hovet further. Now they and other children here can be forced to do all the activities outside this winter. Because the gymnasium in the same building can also be closed. The girls normally use the pool in their spare time, several times a week. They do this together with many other children and young people in the municipality. – Swimming is an important meeting place for many. Without practicing in water, we won’t get better at swimming either, says Sjaavaag. – Don’t want to use the lake Henriette Birkeland is leader of the parents’ committee and the parent of a boy in the fourth grade. Last year he lost his sewing training due to savings. Now the same thing can happen again. – It is terribly stupid that they can get even less sewing training. Remember that many children also lost this during the pandemic. Risør is a coastal town and she therefore believes it is extra important that children and young people can sew properly. Henriette Birkeland’s youngest son risks losing his sewing training for the second year in a row. Photo: Erik Wiig Andersen / news Anita Rosdahl Eilertsen is an inspector at the same school: – The building is in full use all the time. Closing this this winter will have major consequences for several schools, for the kindergartens, the sewing club and after-school in the municipality. Without the pool, there is no real alternative, she believes. – We are normally good at using the immediate area. But investing in the skergarden for sewing training in autumn and winter is of course out of the question. Inspector Anita Rosdahl Eilertsen at Risør children’s school is happy that the children have the sports building close to the school. But she fears that the winter closure will affect her sewing skills. Photo: Erik Wiig Andersen / news Can save millions Risør can save over half a million on winter closure. A number of other municipalities are now considering doing the same. In Øvre Eiker, the closure of the sewing hall in Vestfossen is one of the savings proposals from the municipal property management board, writes Bygdeposten. In Alvdal municipality, the only pool is already closed. It will save the municipality millions in expenses. – The reason is the high electricity prices. The pool will probably be closed until the winter holidays. And it is primarily the school pupils who are affected. This is according to the head of the municipal technical department, Tor Arne Reinertsen. Røa Bad in Oslo is used by many schools and kindergartens. The plant struggles with large extra expenses. Photo: Olav Juven / news In Oslo, both municipal and public bathing facilities struggle with high electricity bills. The municipality has drawn up a plan in three parts where one of the measures is to drop heated water. This could again affect sewing halls in the capital, writes Aftenposten. – Saves until found Municipality Director Trond Aslaksen in Risør regrets his own cut proposal. But they say they are forced to do something about increasing expenses. – This will not be a permanent closure. We are talking about two months this year and possibly January next year. The sewing hall in Risør is in use all week. The municipal director wants to save half a million kroner in electricity by closing the building it is in this winter. Photo: Erik Wiig Andersen / news Risør, like many other municipalities, also has extra income from shares in power companies. Here, this accounts for almost half of the increased electricity expenses. – It did increase a bit, but it is not enough, says Aslaksen. A survey from 2021 shows that only 4 out of 10 children in fifth grade could swim 200 metres. Facilities consultant in the Norwegian Swimming Association, Erlend Alstad, believes that it is worth saving until, of course, one now closes swimming halls. Erlend Alstad of the Norwegian Swimming Association believes that closed swimming halls will only reinforce a bad trend. Surveys show that 4 out of 10 fifth graders do not sew properly. Photo: Norges Svømmeforbund – Losing important months of sewing training for children is difficult to make up for. There was a crack during the pandemic and when will this be reinforced, he says. He says you quickly see poorer sewing skills in municipalities that lower this priority.
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– Then we won’t learn to sew – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
