Govanhill Baths Community Trust ·

Govanhill Swimmers Return - The Gala

Posted: 29th March 2011 By Tim Dyer

Over 200 people surrounded the front of the baths in Calder Street on Saturday 26th March to greet the Govanhill Swimmers after their final exercise “tour” of Govanhill (see Note below).

To a fascinated audience they completed their preliminary warm- up exercises in preparation for their grand Gala in the pool. And then, with the doors finally opened, and in the main pool which they had spruced, sparkled and glistened themseves, they gave the packed audience a superb entertainment of the historic sport of dry and underwater swimming! Their fun races and underwater competition backed by the evocative music by Vangelis from the movie Chariots of Fire, had the audience, roaring with laughter, shouting support for the “competitors” and in rapt and silent attention as their drama unfolded in cacophonies of laughter, music and applause.

But the fun part was not all. The performance was laced throughout with the history of the baths symbolically represented in movement, dance and exercise, catching the joys of local people who used them since 1917 and the sadness since they were closed in 2001. Anecdotes and memories jostled with histories of struggle and local commitment. With style, wit, eloquence, confidence and aplomb their high level of performing skills generated an electric atmosphere evocative of the thousands of Galas that have echoed under that same roof. It captured a perfect note for the return of so many local people to the baths in celebration of the ten years of local struggle to re-open them. What else could we have expected from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama!

And at the end, as in every Gala, to hoots, cheers and applause each of the performers were presented by the GBCT Board with a Certificate, a commemorative medallion, some Govanhill Baths memorabilia and a congratulatory letter from the Trust for their assessors (below). This for them was supposedly an assessment exercise; they made it clear though it was much more than that!

A letter to the Assessors of RSAMD

Without doubt the “Govanhill Swimmers” project has been one of the most effective, talked about and dramatic community interventions this Trust has experienced over the last ten years. Our Board and Centre for Community practice are proud to have been associated with its members as individuals and as a class.

22nd October 2011 marked the damp, cold, grey morning when, after collaborative work between RSAMD tutors and our Centre for Community Practice, what would soon come to be known as the “Govanhill Swimmers” arrived speculatively and nervously at the front doors of the baths in Calder Street. In fact it was for an adapted version of our annual Open Doors Day guided tour experienced by some 6000 visitors. A tour that described and analysed the history of the baths since they were opened in 1917 and the ten years of community struggle to see then re- opened after closure in 2001.

This though was a very different group of “tourists” from those who had gone before. They were tasked it seemed to construct a group community based project around “arts and activism”. From that day their skills, interest, enthusiasm, excitement and “wonder” at the history of our campaign has been etched upon and demonstrated in all they have done.

Incredulity and disbelief were the only reactions, when, three weeks later, reports began circulating about a troupe of strange swimming costume-clad, be-goggled folk whose members were exercising themselves, their swimming strokes and the imaginations of locals as they “searched” for a swimming pool, But it was true, these same students had taken on board, not only fundamental principles of activism, drama and resistance, they were demonstrating the sorts of skills, confidence and awareness way beyond their years and experience as they set out to support a community in struggle for what it believed was just.

The “Govanhill Swimmers” project, like all those that are impactful, successful and celebrated, had four strands; it was a-political, it had a simple message, it was fun and it engaged everyone, particularly children. In consequence it has made and leaves, an indelible mark on the community. What is more, the media interest it has attracted has greatly raised the profile of the baths campaign.

Apart from regular training trips around Govanhill schools and streets “searching” for a pool (often in the most atrocious weather seen in Scotland for 40 years) they have entertained us royally with a “show” at our Christmas party in December, formally launching our new “Emporium” Charity shop on January 22nd and now returning, after another week entertaining and educating Govanhill, for this their Gala performance in the main pool at the baths. A Gala which tips an iceberg of 6 months dedication for which, incidentally, they have spent many hours this week preparing their show and polishing our pool! No, their pool, they are for sure honorary members of the Govanhill Baths Community Trust!

Their tutors and the Academy can be proud of both the high calibre and levels of achievement of these students. Certainly a “passion for excellence” has been on view all through their work. More so can RSAMD be proud of the values intrinsic to the student’s work in Govanhill. Their time with us has not just been to complete a “project” for assessment. They have taken full ownership of the issues involved in a way any educational institution can well be proud. Would more HE establishments be able to equip students to grapple so creatively and effectively with the sorts of inequalities and diversities so alive in Glasgow and Scotland today.

The baths, opened in 1917 by Lord Provost Macaulay Stevenson cannot quite match RSAMD’s longevity. RSAMD, inaugurated 70 years earlier by Charles Dickens as the Athenium set out to 'provide a source of mental cultivation, moral improvement and delightful recreation to all classes' . Sentiments the Govanhill Swimmers have lived up to and lie embedded in the history of these unique Edwardian baths.

If we were grading they would all, of course, receive an A.

NOTE The Govanhill Swimmers had been looking for somewhere to swim since last October! Unfortunately the only pool they could find was closed. So they trained outside and held their swim meets and races on the streets of Govanhill as their search for a local pool has continued. They even practiced underwater swimming, holding their breath in Victoria Street dashes! At then at last they found a pool they could get in to and even though empty planned a royal dry swimming gala in order to introduce their techniques to the community. They would love it if as many of the community came down to cheer their local team as they enter the pool for the first time.

This exciting group of performers from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama worked with our Centre for Community Practice spent time looking into the history of the Baths through work with the campaign to stop the closure and the future of the project to re-open the baths. The ‘Govanhill Swimmers’ and their grand Gala day was their magnificent interpretation of what they learned. You may have seen them on the streets of Govanhill, adorned in their matching costumes, caps and goggles as they searched for somewhere to swim. Most recently they came to open our new “Emporium” Charity shop

You might have seen them going through their warm up exercises, joined in with them and even honked your horns or waved from your windows and generally encouraged them in their quest!!

For more information Govanhill Swimmers Return - The Gala

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