About 50 people, including swimming coaches, Alexandra Swimming Club members and parents of young swimmers, complained about a proposed rise in the lane hire, saying it would make the sport too expensive.
The Vincent Community Board met last night to hear from submitters.
District aquatic centre manager Gary Easthope said the majority of the submitters misunderstood the proposed price increases.
The board had introduced a tiered structure so non-commercial user groups such as community groups, schools and sports groups would receive a higher level of ratepayer subsidy than commercial businesses. The prices for user groups were set by negotiation.
The current lane charge for the swimming club was $3 per lane per hour at off-peak times and $10 per lane per hour at peak time, minus a 25% discount on child admission charges.
The proposed new fee of $16 per lane per hour, inclusive of entry, could mean a saving for a club, depending on how many children it coached in each lane.
Claims made by submitters that fees were going up by 300% and 500% were incorrect, Mr Easthope said.
"What has been highlighted by these submissions is that we could have presented this better to the public and made it clearer," board chairwoman Clair Higginson said.
Board member Tim Cadogan said it was also important to realise the pool cost ratepayers a "colossal" amount of money.
"The little old lady in the town is already worrying about her power bill and rates increase of 7% and pool users are heavily subsidised by non pool-users like her."
