Sports · Other Sports · 9 hrs ago
Van Almsick warns that German swimming pools are closing
Franziska van Almsick says swimming pools are closing across Germany as local governments struggle to afford them.
Van Almsick is a former swimming champion whose foundation works to help children learn to swim.
The foundation is active in 108 cities across Germany.
It received €35,000 at a charity event in Donaueschingen to support its work.
Van Almsick warned that without pools, swimming lessons cannot reach children, even with charitable support.
She said continued efforts are needed, but no specific next steps were announced.
Franziska van Almsick warned that swimming pools are closing across Germany because many municipalities can no longer afford to run them.
She said the situation is becoming more dramatic and that a lack of pool space limits the impact of efforts to teach children to swim.
Her foundation works in 108 cities and promotes swimming lessons under the motto “Every child must learn to swim.”
She received a €35,000 donation for her foundation at the EAGLES season-ending charity event in Donaueschingen.
The event raised a total of €478,063 for several charitable organisations.
- Who
- Franziska van Almsick, a former swimming star and founder of a swimming-education foundation.
- What
- She warned that swimming pools are closing because municipalities cannot afford them, threatening access to swimming lessons.
- When
- At the EAGLES season-ending charity event reported on 18 October 2026.
- Where
- Severin’s Resort & Spa Öschberghof in Donaueschingen, Germany.
- Why
- Many municipalities can no longer afford to operate swimming pools, van Almsick said.
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- Foundation reach
- Active in 108 cities in Germany
- Donation to van Almsick’s foundation
- €35,000
- Total raised at the event
- €478,063
- Event venue
- Severin’s Resort & Spa Öschberghof, Donaueschingen
- Foundation motto
- Jedes Kind muss schwimmen lernen
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What people are saying
Die Situation wird sogar immer noch dramatischer: Wir erleben ein massives Bädersterben, weil sich viele Kommunen die Schwimmbäder nicht mehr leisten können.
Wenn Wasserflächen fehlen, nützt auch das beste Engagement nichts. Deshalb müssen wir uns weiterhin engagieren.