Father takes the Zeist swimming pool to court, wants to take his son to swimming lessons without a corona ticket

His son has been taking swimming lessons in Dijnselburg since the summer, but is then supervised by his mother or older sister.

According to the man from Zeist, the swimming pool is an educational location and the SRO administrator is therefore not allowed to ask the parents for access to a CTB. The father feels supported in this by a judge’s decision. At the end of last year, he determined that the owner of a teaching pool in Hilversum does not have to ask for a CTB, because this bath can be seen as an educational institution.

But according to the SRO, the Dijnselburg swimming pool is a sports and recreation facility and the CTB rules do apply. After the Hilversum case, the minister emphatically confirmed to the House of Representatives that swimming lessons do not fall under the forms of education for which an exception is made. The administrator therefore does not understand why she is being taken to court. The rules are imposed by the government. The municipality of Zeist has previously informed the father that no exception will be made for him

“We have to be accountable for rules that we did not come up with. We stand for quality and safety, but within the rules,” argued director Van Vilsteren. According to her, the effect on the employees is enormous. “They are inundated with questions, but also have to deal with threats and violence. It feels like we are on trial here and that is a slap in the face for our employees.

The swimming pool manager also finds it strange that the father has started a lawsuit after his son had already received swimming lessons for eight weeks. Only then did he raise his conscientious objections, but would not explain what they were based on. He was invited by the swimming pool six times for an interview to see if a practical solution could be found, but you did not respond to that.

“It is not up to SRO to weigh my objections and judge whether those objections are fundamental enough,” he explained. At the end of the session, he explained that from the start he thinks that the corona measures do more harm than good.

The father and his two lawyers maintained that the pool is contractually obligated to admit parents without CTB to the pool. And if the judge does not see swimming lessons as education, then at least it is sport. According to one of the lawyers, in that case an exception also applies to the father. If you accompany someone who is younger than 17 and has a disability, you do not have to show a CTB according to the law. “The son is five years old and also has a defect: he cannot swim,” commented the counselor exuberantly.

Finally, the plaintiff gave an explanation for his conscientious objection. “I want to do good for my fellow man, but the CTB polarizes and excludes people, so I don’t participate in it. It does more harm than good.” He said he persevered despite sacrifices. He does not enter the catering industry and hobby activities come to a standstill. “My wife is a healthcare worker and therefore vaccinated. But she fully supports me.”

The cabinet will announce far-reaching relaxation of the corona measures next week. This could also have consequences for the CTB. The SRO had therefore asked the father to postpone the summary proceedings, but he did not respond. The judge tries to rule as quickly as possible. That will probably be next Friday.