Athletes 'dreams hampered' by Ponds Forge indefinite closure

Ponds Forge is the venue for many diving competitions including the British Elite Junior Diving Championships in 2019

A generation of athletes will lose their chance to "chase their dreams" because of the indefinite closure of their training base, a coach has said.

Owners of Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield, one of few specialist diving venues in England, said it could not afford to open.

City of Sheffield Diving Club coach Tom Owen said a long closure would have a devastating impact on athletes.

Matt Bartle, whose son is in the club, has written to MPs urging intervention.

The diving club has been based at the site since 1991 when it first opened and trains hundreds of people, including those targeting the rescheduled Tokyo Olympic Games.

It is one of the most successful diving clubs in the country and has provided at least one Olympian at every games for nearly three decades.

Mr Owens said pre-Covid-19 about 400 people came through the doors weekly to dive but the club had not used the venue for 141 days.

He added: "The risk is if this happens for too long and we don't find a suitable plan for Ponds Forge to reopen in the short term, then it will be a generation of athletes who will lose their opportunity to chase their dreams and not just for diving but for every club level athlete who enters that facility and anyone who uses it for recreation.

"It's a very big hole left in a lot of people's lives."

Read more Yorkshire news and stories

Mr Bartle said it was "heartbreaking" his 11-year-old son Noah and other members had been left with nowhere to train.

He has written an open letter to MPs and councillors highlighting concerns and described Ponds Forge as the "beating heart of one of the city's most successful sporting teams".

He said: "Fundamentally divers need boards to dive and if they haven't got this then they can't train and they can't do the thing they love."

Jane Nickerson, chief executive of Swim England, also expressed "extreme disappointment" at the decision to mothball Ponds Forge.

Andrew Snelling, chief executive of Sheffield City Trust, which owns the venue, previously said as well sport, many conferences and banquets were held at Ponds Forge.

He said income from those events had been restricted and that meant "it isn't economic" to open it.

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail] or send video here.