For decades SWIMMING in the sea had been popular with the male labouring classes, both "with and without drawers". Such happenings had infuriated anxious mothers of delicate daughters and caused letters of complaint to appear in the newspapers. More traditional sea bathers joined the "Torquay Swimming Club".

However, by June 1899, some had become so dissatisfied that they met together and formed the "Bath Saloons Swimming and Life-Saving Association"; just a fortnight afterwards it was renamed "Torquay Leander Swimming & Life-Saving Association". "Oddicombe Swimming Club" came much later in the 1920s. After the Marine Spa closed in 1971, Torquay was without an indoor swimming pool. This was partially rectified when the "Swim Torquay" pool opened at Plainmoor in 1977.

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Last modified: Mar 22 04