GBHS Swim Buddies

Welcome to our community-run swimming hub in Golden Bay — where families, swimmers, and volunteers share the pool and the load. 

Community Keyholder Group

GBHS Swim Buddies is a community-run initiative that keeps the Golden Bay High School pool open for local families, lane swimmers, and volunteers over summer. We’re not a business, we’re neighbours, parents, and helpers who share the same goal: to make safe, friendly swimming possible after the school day and Swim Club lessons end.

We manage the admin on behalf of the school. This involves handling all advertising, keyholder communications, registrations, compliance administration, timetable, payments, volunteer rostering, and key allocations. We also manage the GBHS Swim Buddies WhatsApp groups and website.

The Pool

The 30 metre 6-lane open-air pool at Te Waka Kura o Mohua / Golden Bay High School Pool in Takaka is the largest heated pool in Golden Bay, Tasman.

The season runs from mid-October to end March / early April. Pool keys are sold and managed by a voluntary Pool Keyholder Committee.

With over a thousand school pools closed throughout New Zealand due to age and funding difficulties, Golden Bay students, learner swimmers and public alike are fortunate that the school and MOE have invested so heavily in maintaining and upgrading the pool. It is an invaluable asset for the region. 

Pool Improvements & Future Plans 

In recent years, thanks to the school and Board in ensuring the pool remains open, the Ministry of Education has invested significant sums to upgrade the GBHS pool for the benefit of it students and the community.

In addition to a new heating system, automatic chlorination and testing, the school is upgrading the pool with new gate and fencing and planting, pool repainting, and soon the installation of a permanent open cover to offer sun and rain protection. 

Swim Times

Lane swimmers usually have access to the pool on week day mornings before the school starts (7:00AM - 8:45AM), and week day evenings after the swim club lessons (6:20PM - 7:00 or 7:45PM). They also have lane swimming times either side of family swimming on Friday afternoons and Weekends. Click to our Pool Timetable page for this season's timetable.