TQ People
he Admiral Swimming Centre in Brixham boasts
Interviews with local people who live & work locally
a 25m heated swimming pool and was built by volunteers back in the early 70s. If you’ve subsequently learned to swim in this pool, or your children have (or even your children’s children) then there’s a very good chance that you were taught by Shirley Green – if not by her, then by one of her family. TQ Magazine met up with Shirley to ask her about her role in teaching the young of Brixham how not to drown! How many people have you taught to swim? I couldn’t possibly work it out but it must be thousands!
Shirley Green - Swimming Instructor T
that I think I’ve taught three generations of the same family on a number of occasions. Were you a good swimmer yourself? Yes, I was a Devon County Champion when I was very young – over short distances. I have swum for years. I’ve swum the Brixham breakwater a few times – starting inside the breakwater and then all the way round to the outer side. Teaching people to swim is a family affair? It is. My husband Jeff teaches, as does my brother, my two nieces and my grandson. There can’t be
many people in Brixham that haven’t been taught by one of us.
When did you start teaching? Many years ago – I suppose I started to do so regularly in the 70s when the Admiral Pool first opened – we were part of the team of volunteers that actually built the pool. I have just turned 77 yrs old and I can’t think of a time when I wasn’t teaching at least once a week.
How often do you teach nowadays? It’s 5 days a week, in the afternoons and also three evenings a week. I’ve been doing that for 6 years and I now get paid for it, which is rather nice! There’s not a day when I don’t relish coming to the pool. Are you in the pool yourself everytime you teach? Oh yes. That’s a lot of chlorine! Why do you do it? I just love teaching people to swim – I teach them to be able to save themselves. We teach them the correct technique from the start as well as giving them the confidence which good swimming requires. I mostly teach young children but also people of all ages. I once taught an 84 year old lady to swim for the first time. I’ve been doing it so long
Did your parents swim? They did – my father once saved a man’s life in Brixham harbour – they weren’t keen swimmers but they gave us a lot of encouragement. As kids, we spent a lot of our spare time messing about at the Shoalstone Pool.
Why is swimming important to you? It’s great exercise and has kept me healthy. I was in a very bad road accident some years ago and still suffer aches and pains as a result. I am sure the exercise I get in the pool has kept me supple. I am a great believer that if you keep fit, remain active then that helps keep old age at bay. My husband is also hale and hearty and keeps very active through swimming. Teaching is also very special to me – I take great pleasure in teaching and meeting people. I have never wanted to give it up. How long will you carry on? I shall probably die in the pool! But so long as my body allows me, especially my hips, then I shall
never stop. The Admiral Swimming Centre, Higher Ranscombe Road, Brixham. TQ5 9HF. T: 01803 857151
www.admiralswimmingcentre.co.uk
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