Aberdeen Aquatics Centre to refuse entry to students…unless they can prove they’re STI-free

The new Aquatics Centre, due to open in a month, will not be opening its doors to Aberdeen’s student population.

In light of the recent research published that 15% of students in Aberdeen have a STI, managers at Aberdeen Sports Village and the Aquatics Centre have decided that every student who wishes to take out a swimming membership with them must bring in sexual test results proving they are free of disease.

They fear contamination of the pool by infected students could lead to the potential ill health of their other customers:

“As a non profit organisation, we hold our community in very high esteem, and as such have made the decision to benefit the large majority of the public who wish to use our facilities without the risk of any health issues.”

The scientific research behind this decision is the discovery that Treponema pallidum, commonly known as syphilis, travels through water very effectively, and so there is worry about a spike of infection rates in Aberdeen because of this.

Suggestions have been made that men who are unable to  pass the test wear a condom underneath their swimming shorts to prevent spreading any infection, much like how a verruca sock acts in the same manner, although tests are still under way to prove whether or not this would be effective.

As yet, there have been no suggested preventative methods as to how women can stop the spread of infection.

An inside source revealed that the Sports Union has been in discussion with the centre all week. They hinted at the decision possibly being a reaction to pressures put upon ASV by the Common Wealth Games Committee, as they currently stand to be one of the major grounds for pre-games training.

This being the case they want to assure students that they “will fight for the pool to be available for use by all – even those who go to Institute on a Wednesday – once the games have come to an end.”

Considering the Sports Village and Aquatics Centre are of huge interest to many potential students, and the focus the university has put on it as a unique selling point, there are concerns over the inevitable reaction from its student population.

However, until the managers change their mind, we suggest you get clean – or at least very good at forging sexual screening results.

Outraged? Send us an email at [email protected] to sign our petition against this decision.