The McIver’s Ladies Baths is under new management after members of the Coogee Ladies Swimming Club unanimously elected a new interim president who will take charge of the ocean pool. Following the changes, the facilities will close for three months beginning April 2021 as it undergoes further renovations.
Just before the Easter break, more than 50 members of the Coogee Ladies Swimming Club held a special meeting with the Randwick City Council to discuss the management changes. In January 2021, the popular ladies bath came under fire for discrimination after announcing that transgender women who have not undergone genital surgery would not be allowed at the venue.
The decision received backlash not just from local LGBTQ communities in Sydney but also abroad. The previous management then backtracked on the announcement, which was posted on the official website’s FAQ pages.
President-elect Tracy Grujovic said that, following certain restrictions and “authoritarian running of the pool of late,” McIver’s Ladies Baths will be “given back to the community.”
The new management has also asked Council to make a comprehensive review of the facility’s operations.
Secretary-elect Colleen Kelly, who has been swimming at the venue for close to 60 years, said that the only exclusive pool in Australia is a safe space for women of all shapes, abilities, cultures and religions. She said that McIver’s Ladies Baths embraced trans women for years until the “aggressive” management took over.
She personally stopped visiting the baths because of this but that will change when the pool re-opens sometime in July.
