There is a remarkable rush to the Manchester swimming baths at the present time. At some of the more popular establishments there are about two thousand visitors daily, and bathers are having to wait in queues as if seeking admission to a picture-house. People went to Victoria Baths, in High Street for instance, on Sunday morning last, and finding dozens waiting before them went away disappointed.
On Sundays this bath is open from eight to eleven o’clock in the morning, and one learns on inquiry that the queue outside had begun to form at seven o’clock. It was not the only establishment in the city where the press was so heavy, nor, says Mr A. Teasdale (general superintendent of the Corporation Baths Department), is Sunday the only day of the week on which queues may be seen.
The question naturally arises whether the provision which the Baths Committee has made is sufficient for the demand. At first glance it would seem not. But it would be unwise to give an answer during the exceptional weather of the moment. Suppose the temperature should fall? Mr. Teasdale says that a drop of a few points will make a tremendous difference. The fact is that there is a relatively small number of devotees of the art of swimming and a great crowd of casual “tinkerers.” In most weathers the devotees will support the baths, but should the sun retire and the thermometer drop a few points the casuals disappear magically. Indeed there is a pretty considerable proportion of the swimmers who like the bath water warmed.
During the hottest part of last season the colliers were on strike, and it was impossible to heat the water. But the weather was warm enough, and the Baths Committee thought that the bathing public would greatly miss the usual preliminary heating. They were mistaken. All but the really seasoned enthusiasts found the unprepared water too stringent, and the attendances fell off to such a degree that the baths were closed until the colliers went back to work.
In certain states of the weather there may be between 1,000 and 2,000 bathers a day at a particular swimming bath; a sudden change will reduce the number to a dozen or two. Therefore, argues Mr. Teasdale, it is very difficult to decide whether the provision made for bathers is sufficient or not. In his view the facilities that exist at the moment are adequate.
Altogether there are 32 swimming baths under the management of the Manchester Baths Committee. In addition, there is the large open-air bath at Philips Park. Such, in brief, are the facilities among which Manchester swimmers have their choice, and in the official view they suffice for the time being.
It is fully recognised, however, that the demand will increase as times goes by. The officials of the department declare that in recent years there has been a growing interest in swimming. More children are learning to swim, and more parents are encouraging their children to learn and paying for expert tuition. Girls and young women especially have taken to the sport.
According to a report covering the season which ended on March 31, 1921, the number of men who used the Manchester baths was 555,725 and the number of women 258,879. But women and girls enjoy only half the facilities that are extended to men, and it would be fair to treat the number of women’s attendances as if it related to a six months’ term only. Therefore girls and women use the baths as much as the men.
With these facts in mind, it is east to understand why mixed bathing is becoming so popular at certain of the Manchester baths. It took the advocates of mixed bathing some time to overcome prejudice, but the Baths Committee is now so well satisfied with the experiments that established days for mixed bathing may be counted upon to stay.
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