![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/council-leisure-closures-will-devastate-children/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/131293965_lindascott-council.jpg&description=Image caption, Swimming club treasurer Linda Scott has vowed to fight the cuts For more than 20 years young swimmers in Airdrie have been given their first taste of competition at the John Smith Pool. But the future of Airdrie and Monklands Swimming Club is now under threat after it was listed among 39 facilities to be closed by North Lanarkshire Council in budget cuts. Club treasurer Linda Scott said the news was "devastating" but believes it will bring communities together. She told BBC Scotland News: "We're going to fight this as much as we possibly can." Ms Scott described the support from young people and parents as "tremendous". She added: "The children are devastated. This is their club, this is their home, this is their community. "They love all their friends, they're here for sport, they're here for mental health and for social aspects." While the club has had swimmers compete for Scottish and British titles, for many of the young people it is as much about socialising and escaping teenage pressures. Image caption, Dorothy and Beth McRobbie said the pool is a massive part of the community Beth, 16, has been part of the club for seven years. She said: "Swimming helps me de-stress, especially with exams and everything. During exams I think I was in the pool more because it kind of clears your head. "I don't know what it would be like without the club because there's a big social aspect too. I've met loads of people from different schools, it's a community." The pool has been open in Airdrie for decades. Her mother Dorothy said generations of the family have learned to swim at the pool. "It would be a travesty if they shut it," she said. "I learned to swim here, my four daughters learned to swim here. It's a great social aspect. I don't understand why they would want to shut it. "The people making the decisions need to come down and visit the pool and see the multi-generations that are using it." Image caption, Derek Hawkins competed for Scotland at the 2014 C){kind=link}
For more than 20 years young swimmers in Airdrie have been given their first taste of competition at the John Smith Pool.
But the future of Airdrie and Monklands Swimming Club is now under threat after it was listed among 39 facilities to be closed by North Lanarkshire Council in budget cuts.
Club treasurer Linda Scott said the news was “devastating” but believes it will bring communities together.
She told BBC Scotland News: “We’re going to fight this as much as we possibly can.”
Ms Scott described the support from young people and parents as “tremendous”.