THE operators of Carnegie Leisure Centre are confident that a revised swimming pool timetable will satisfy the needs of "all club swimmers and aquatic disciplines".

Fife Sports and Leisure Trust, which runs the Pilmuir Street facility on behalf of Fife Council, have released details of its change in swimming offering that will be piloted from this Saturday.

In May, as part of what the trust said was "a savings strategy" to meet "funding challenges" it now faces, they outlined plans to slash Carnegie's opening hours by six, closing at 5pm instead of 8pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

The move, which comes into effect this weekend, sparked fears among club users – particularly from Dunfermline Water Polo and Fife Synchronised Swimming, who used the pools between 5-8pm on Sundays – that the changes could have a negative impact on its membership if suitable alternatives were not found.

However, following a number of discussions with Scottish Swimming and clubs – also including Carnegie Swimming Club, InCAS and Dunfermline Amateur Swimming Club – the trust believe that they have found "a good balance" for its customers with the new timetable, adding that they work closely with all parties to "strengthen partnerships and performances pathways for swimmers, as well as promote aquatics for all ages and abilities".

The timetable changes, which will affect both the main pool and training pool, will deliver 60 per cent of the overall pool time for public swimming during peak times of 4pm to building close, with dedicated weekday evening timeslots for club and performance development swimmers between 6-8pm midweek.

In addition to having access to the training pool seven days a week, clubs will also have use of the main pool from 3-5pm on a Saturday, and Wendy Watson, chief operating officer for Fife Sports and Leisure Trust, commented: "Due to the change in operating hours at the centre, we have had to review our overall swim offering and have worked very hard to deliver a timetable which will benefit a wide range of users while minimising disruption to customers.

"We believe the revised timetable gives a good balance to our customers with better access to the main pool, with less lane restrictions during public times and, importantly, accommodates all club swimmers and aquatic disciplines, giving them the opportunity to grow their current memberships and strengthen their elite swimmers.

"These changes will also deliver more potential for our Learn to Swim programme, which has recently recorded its highest enrolment levels, with over 6,400 participants enrolled across Fife since its launch four years ago."

Ally Whike, performance director for Scottish Swimming, added: "There are a number of aquatic clubs who use the pool and this looks a good approach which will provide adequate pool time for all pool users."

Changes to Carnegie's opening times are being implemented following an announced management fee reduction from the trust's partner, Fife Council, whose funding package means they are unable to maintain the current levels of existing services at the facility, as well as some of its other sports and leisure venues across the Kingdom.

Details of the new timetable can be found at https://www.fifeleisure.org.uk/locations/carnegie/.