"At the gym, they make me feel more disabled than I am."

BarcelonaEven today, accessing a pool remains a headache for many people with reduced mobility. This is the case for Àngel Grau, who has been in a wheelchair since 2017 as a result of polio and has long been reporting the problems he encounters in being able to swim independently at the municipal gym where he is a member in Barcelona: the Bac de Roda Municipal Sports Center, in the Sant Martí district. "There is little empathy and a lack of respect," he laments in a conversation with this newspaper, while outlining a long list of complaints about the facilities.

The main ones have to do with the difficulty of moving independently around the gym's pools. Grau explains that neither the gym's outdoor pool nor the jacuzzi have a fixed chair that allows people with reduced mobility to enter and exit the water independently without relying on an instructor. These areas of the gym do have movable chairs, but Grau argues that this forces them to notify someone every time they want to enter or exit the water, which, he emphasizes, often discourages them from doing so. "We have the right to enter and exit the water whenever we want, just like anyone else," he emphasizes.

In his opinion, the needs of people with reduced mobility are not taken into account in the pools where the gym does have fixed hydraulic chairs. He explains, for example, the case of the main indoor pool. Since 2023, there has been a fixed chair, but Grau emphasizes that it is located in a place that complicates access to the water. The problem lies in the fact that it is located in the lanes where swimming lessons for young children are usually held, which forces Grau and the rest of the people who use it to cross the entire pool every time they enter and exit, often having to cross the fast lanes as well.

Grau's crusade began in 2020. Then, one of the mobile chairs that make it easier for people with reduced mobility to enter and exit the water broke with him on it. "Luckily, I was able to stop the impact with a hammock," he recalls, pointing to the poor condition of the utensil as responsible for its breakage. He also explains that for a time, he lent the center his shower chair, which he used at home, because all the ones in the gym were in poor condition.

Because of all this, in 2021 he filed several requests with Barcelona City Council, which referred him to the Institut Barcelona Esports (IBE). Representatives of this organization and the gym's management visited the center with him, where he reported that, in addition to the pools, the changing rooms were also inadequate. "It's not enough to have an adapted shower and toilet," she warns, citing as examples aspects such as mirrors and sinks being placed at heights that make it impossible to see each other while washing their hands.

Grau also emphasizes that people in wheelchairs need more space than usual to get dressed and points out that there isn't any in the gym. "A classmate who needs more space is made to change in the children's group locker room," she says. "They make me feel more disabled than I am," laments Grau, who explains that a friend of hers who uses a wheelchair has stopped joining the center because of this whole situation. She believes that CET10, the company that manages the center, lacks empathy for people who need to exercise. "Everyone should exercise for their health, but we, with our pathologies, even more so," she says.

City Council Response

Despite the difficulties faced by people with reduced mobility, the center complies with regulations. This was recently defended by the center's director, Sandra Vallés, in statements to Betevé. The City Council also defended the facilities at the Bac de Roda CEM. When contacted by this newspaper, sources from the council emphasized that the gym has a fixed hoist in the indoor pool and a mobile one to access the outdoor pool or the spa area.

The same sources point out, however, that work is underway to install a new fixed hoist in the outdoor pool as well, and that the IBE (Spanish Institute of Betevé) has already visited the facility to assess it and determine what type of wheelchair can be installed. "Currently, we are in talks with the manager to install the most suitable wheelchair as soon as possible," they emphasize.