Piopio swimming club news

PIOPIO Swimming Club's 2026 season kicked off at the start of the school term, with 70+ local children registered in our Learn to Swim and Club Squad programmes. We are very appreciative to have most of our experienced volunteer coaches return and share their knowledge and passion for swimming this season. This allowed guidance for our newer coaches and pool assistants and offered quality training sessions for our swimmers. A big thank you to those who give up their time to provide this valuable skill to our community.

Due to many Club swimmers leaving school last year, we were able to accommodate new families into our programme this season. We have not been able to do this for a number of years. The number of swimmers we can accommodate depends on the number of volunteers we have to facilitate our programme, so we are always keen for more volunteers (even other committee roles not involving getting wet!) If you are interested, please get in touch with our Learn to Swim Co-ordinator by emailing [email protected]

2026 conditions have not been favourable, with heavy rain fall and cold winds throughout making the lessons challenging for many. However, we breed them pretty tough around here and know that there have been many improvements and skills strengthened during this short time.

School swimming sports and Interschool competitions displayed confidence and technique from all of our swimmers and highlighted the depth and growing number of younger swimmers achieving club level capabilities. Many of our swimmers attended our Carnival held Saturday 28th February and were matched against swimmers from Marlin (Taumarunui), and Tekuiti Swim Club. Thank you to all those who helped make this day the success it was!

We are fortunate to have received a grant from Grassroots Trust and donations of spot prizes for the event from local community businesses: The Fat Pigeon Cafe, PGG Wrightsons, Hairloom Hair Design, and Foraged - homeware & gifts. Thank you for your support! And finally, a huge thank you goes out to the Piopio Pools Trust, who have faced constant operational issues due to the age of the pools and the systems needed to operate the pools. There is a small, but dedicated group that work tirelessly to keep the facility open and functioning for our School, Club, and community to use.

There are many people in our community that have contributed to do what they can to assist. There is still lots to do and we urge the community to get behind any fundraising efforts that go towards the pools