The closure of the Glenorchy pool has touched a nerve for many who live here. There is a campaign underway to “Save The Pool”.

But the closure, along with the high cost of repair or replacement, as well as the annual $400k subsidy coming out of our rates, force us to give more thought to how we react, how we decide how to proceed.

Let’s start by looking at what the pool was for. Of course we go there to swim. But there is more to it than that.

It is a “memorial” pool. It was intended to remind us of sacrifices made in the two world wars. It’s doubtful that it does any more because in recent times most remembrance services have been elsewhere. There are memorial plaques in the pool but they get little attention. So couldn’t the plaques be moved to a more appropriate location?

And the pool has lanes designed for practice or competition. They were well used until just before 2000. There was an active swimming club based at the pool. But it seems the fate of the club was sealed when head coach Chris Wedd moved to the new indoor Hobart Aquatic Centre where he started the Hobart Aquatic Club. More recently it has only been the hardy few using the lanes for an energizing early morning swim.

In times gone by, schools used the pool for their annual swimming carnivals. But that has become rare as schools want to avoid the vagaries of the weather at the covered Hobart Aquatic Centre or private pools.

So do we need the lanes of a competitive pool? Does any replacement even need to be rectangular?

And many of those angry about the closure probably recall their younger days when they often used the pool in summer either with their parents, family, or friends – a place of recreation and social activity.

One more you may have missed, obvious but easily overlooked. The pool provided a way for people to cope with a hot day. Glenorchy, despite being beside a large river, has virtually nowhere outdoors where people can get relief from the heat. It now has none. Some might have noticed a modest water feature in the defunct proposal for the Montrose Bay. The Goodwood substitute has none.

So clearly the pool served a variety of purposes for a variety of different groups. And different groups will rank their importance differently.

In discussing potential futures for the pool, one useful approach might be to focus on each purpose, contemplate whether Glenorchy needs something in future to serve that purpose, then think about where and how that purpose might be addressed.

Currently the pool serves various purposes. It may well be that it makes sense to have purposes served in different places. Maybe there is something which is a dedicated memorial. Maybe there is no longer any need for a facility for lane swimming. Maybe we do not need a pool as such but a place for water-based recreation.

So I ask – why is the pool important to you?