– I am very surprised at how few people know about Mjøsbadet, but a bit of the blame is probably the pandemic and the restrictions that came with it. Here, there is both a competition pool and one of Norway’s largest therapy pools with hot water, so it is a huge facility for most people, says Kristine Røsland, leader of swimming in Hamar sports club.
– What is the reason why Hamar sports club will establish itself in Mjøsbadet?
– There is no one else who offers something similar here and the locals have been to us to achieve something for a long time. Even though this is under our auspices, it is intended for the population in Brumunddal and the surrounding area, says Røsland.
Want contributions from the locals
The sports team has already offered kindergarten swimming in Mjøsbadet for a couple of years, and now aims to expand the activity sharply in the time to come.
– At the moment we are in a recruitment process to connect with local expertise from Brumunddal, to help build up the offer here, says Camilla Hansen, instructor and main responsible for the hammer club’s activities in Mjøsbadet.
– We want to make a local footprint, and want to convey the message that it is possible to work and contribute here. The idea is that the offer will generate interest, which will hopefully again lead to more jobs. This is our big goal, in addition to increasing the population’s swimming skills and well-being in the water, she further explains.
Starts up during the winter holidays
Now they are in the process of intensive training for children, from 5 years and up, before swimming lessons for both children and adults will soon be offered towards the summer.
– Here you will have the opportunity to come as a beginner, and advance up through the levels as the skills increase. And there are still places left, so we hope people sign up, says Hansen.
– What about those who want to invest in swimming, do you have an offer for them as well?
– One of the advantages of collaborating with Hamar sports club is that we will be able to provide the wide offer here in Mjøsbadet, and should you eventually want to invest as a competitive swimmer, the road is short to the offer in Ankerskogen, says Hansen, before she adds:
– A small sigh of relief we have towards the municipality is that the adult course participants must buy an entrance ticket, in addition to the course fee. We are not entirely sure why this is the case, but it is the framework we have been given. It must be added, for the sake of order, that there is free admission for the children, so we would like to praise the municipality for that, she further explains.
Play, health and socializing
In addition to swimming lessons for young and old, according to the instructor, it will also be supplemented with other offers in due course, and several specific projects are beginning to take shape:
– Among other things, we want to put in place a leisure offer for children and young people, on an equal footing with football, handball and the like. In addition, we are working to start a similar offer for vulnerable elderly people. The corona period has gone far beyond this group, and getting them back in activity and being able to offer a social arena will be very positive. This is not completely tangible yet, but I am working purposefully to make it happen, and I have the Salvation Army in Brumunddal with me on the team, Hansen explains.