Last week the Otago Daily Times reported on Diving Ōtākou’s concerns its training in Moana Pool’s dive/lap pool was being hampered by aqua joggers.
Club members said sharing pool space between divers and aqua joggers was a safety hazard and the Dunedin City Council was unwilling to resolve the issue.
Since then, the ODT has seen two complaints addressed to the pool’s manager from an aqua jogger, who alleges young divers were encouraged to see other pool users as "fair game to be harassed".
"A rotund boy [from the dive club], aged about 10, deliberately sat with his legs drawn up, on the ledge above the aqua joggers, parallel to the pool and deliberately rolled into the pool, right in front of me, causing a splash and causing me to cease aqua jogging," the complainant wrote.
"I asked him what he thought he was doing. He grinned at me and said, ‘I fell’."
The complainant, who asked not to be named, said she was also "caused to shriek" when a diver landed within 2m of her, which was "clearly unsafe and was threatening".
She said the actions of the divers were beyond the expected behaviour of children at a pool and was adamant it was related to Diving Ōtākou’s concerns about pool space.
"The children have never behaved in this way before."
She was concerned the "intimidation tactics" would lead to aqua joggers avoiding the pool.
"It seems likely that the children have picked up their hostility to aqua joggers from the adults involved in the diving club and the adults are happy to watch this intimidatory behaviour without taking any action," she wrote.
A second aqua jogger said the complaints from the diving community were "rather arrogant" and she felt aqua joggers were "last on the list" when it came to pool allocation.
However, she understood the club’s concerns about pool allocation and thought the council needed work with all parties to review how space was distributed.
A Diving Ōtākou spokeswoman said the club fully supported all users in the community to have equal access to Moana Pool’s "outstanding facilities".
"We look forward to continuing the conversation with the DCC to ensure our athlete divers have the requisite time in each diving pool, so they can reach their full potential."
She did not respond to the specific allegations made by the aqua jogger.
A council spokesperson reminded all pool users to remain respectful of each other and different groups’ needs.
"We are aware of two written complaints and pool staff have spoken to members of two groups recently following a disagreement at Moana Pool.
"We believe current arrangements are the fairest possible approach for all pool users.
"The dive pool — like the rest of Moana Pool — is a popular public facility in high demand, and our staff try to be as flexible as possible while trying to accommodate everyone’s needs. This includes altering the space available in the dive pool each day to accommodate various groups, including diving."
