Islanders reflect on history of diving boards

Hayward Quevâtre diving from the top diving board at La Valette Bathing Pools

Swimmers and divers have been sharing their memories of the historic Valette bathing pools in Guernsey.

The pools have been the subject of debate since the only remaining diving board on the site was deemed unsafe by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Following protests, the removal of the diving platform has been delayed by four weeks to give the States time to "consider the issues".

Patsy Self said she had been using the diving board since she was around 10 or 11 years old, during the 1950s.

Patsy Self was a diver in the Guernsey Swimming Club, and remembers the bathing pools as a child

"I think it's a shame really, because it's part of Guernsey history and the diving boards have been there...all through our childhood," she said.

Mrs Self added: "Talking to families on Sunday morning they were quite sad to see what was left of it going."

The La Valette Bathing Pools were once famous for diving competitions, with the Guernsey Swimming Club (GSC) setting up high-diving boards at the Ladies' Pool in 1925.

But the boards started being removed in the 1970s and all that remains is one low board.

The charity Vive La Vallette, which was formed in 2019 to regenerate the facilities at the pools, said it was "disappointed" the remaining diving board had been set to be removed without further consultation.

It said the bathing pools were Victorian-era intertidal structures.

"The pools are filled by the sea twice a day at the higher tides and, as the tides drop, they provide a calm swimming area for the public to enjoy," a spokesperson said.

Margaret Jones was also a swimming club member

Margaret Jones, who is also a swimmer and a childhood friend of Mrs Self, said she was uncertain about the changes.

She said: "I don't think change is always for the best. If it is for the best, then it's a good thing.

"But I think a lot of the time it's change for change sake, and that's probably what's led to the demise.. of the diving boards.

"They're taking away something and not replacing it with an alternative... why not improve it and let people use it?" she said.

Jo Norman has been part of the Guernsey Swimming Club for 49 years

Jo Norman, who began volunteering at the GSC in 1976, said La Vallette was "a special place" for her.

She said: "I remember swimming there as a child and my children learnt to swim down there too with the Guernsey Swimming Club.

"We took part in the floodlit galas, where the community would come together to join in and watch the incredible fire dives from the high boards."

Ms Norman said memories would remain at the pools forever.

"There was always such a great atmosphere down at the pools and I believe it still remains at the heart of swimming in Guernsey," she said.

The GSC said the Vallette pools were a hotspot for its events and competitions during the 1960s and 1970s.

It added that its centenary year and 125th anniversary were held at the pools as well as the "occasional swim session" and annual polar bear swim.

Barbara Quevâtre has many memories of her husband diving at La Valette Bathing Pools

Barbara Quevâtre, whose late husband Hayward was a diver at the pools, said she was worried about how young people would find the changes.

She said her husband went to the pools to practise on the diving board "every lunch hour" before most of the boards were removed in 1989.

"When they came down...he was devastated, so he didn't go down there anymore," she said.

Mrs Quevâtre added: "It changed his life altogether really."

Barbara Quevâtre said diving was her husband's "life"

She said her husband was "older" when he started diving - and said he was "too tall to make a neat diver."

Mrs Quevâtre said it would be "a shame" if the remaining diving board was completely removed.

"There's a community down there. It hasn't been the same since the diving stages came down."

"With the diving stages taken down as well...it's not the same, you've got your winter swimmers, your all-round swimmers...but there's not the sense of a community somehow," she added.

Mrs Quevâtre said the pools had "lost their charm" since the removal of the diving stages.

"It's very nice to have wheelchair access and all the rest of it, but for me it's lost its well, charm I suppose.

"It's lost its sort of nature. To me, it's not the same in Guernsey as it was, and various areas around the coast to me have changed sufficiently that Guernsey isn't Guernsey anymore for me."