Moseley Shoals

Birmingham’s Social LGBTQ+ Swim & Water Polo Group

April’s Sunday Swim & Social Meet Up is this Sunday, 27th April, 2-3pm
@ Walsall Gala Leisure Centre’s Brine Pool. See the ‘Sessions’ section for more details.

Our Regular Weekly Swims….

Mondays, 8:15pm at Morris Centre, QE Campus, B15 2TH – private hire session

Thursdays, 8:15pm at Morris Centre, QE Campus, B15 2TH – private hire session.

Moseley Rd is now closed for refurbishment until Summer 2025.April’s

Swimming

Weekly evening and weekend sessions throughout the year, at the magnificent Moseley Road Pool, Birmingham’s oldest working pool and a Grade II listed building. We hire the whole pool, and are a mixed ability group, catering for everything from 'splash & chat' to competition standard. We welcome male and female swimmers of all abilities, but currently cannot take non-swimmers

Social Events

Out of the water the Shoals are just as friendly and sociable, if not a bit more so. After our pool sessions we undo all the good work by going to the pub for drinks. We also have cinema / theatre trips, balti nights, picnics in the summer, and visits to Moseley Farmers Market. Most years we have at least one short break overseas for regular members, with friends and partners welcome to join us.

Water Polo

Water Polo offers the benefits of swimming with the social aspect of team sports like football and rugby. We run a session every fortnight at our Wednesday swim, where we play for fun, and our sessions are designed to ensure everyone enjoys themselves, whether they've played before, or are completely new to the sport.

Joining Us

  • There is no need to pay a joining fee, or sign-up for an ongoing commitment - just come along and join in whenever you can. We have an informal approach to membership, and regular members get involved in our range of social activities.
  • Your first session of swimming or water polo is FREE, in order to give us a try!
  • We use Moseley Road Baths and other City Council pools and their staff can guide you to us.
  • We hire the whole pool, so just get changed and come through to the poolside.
  • We usually have our own lifeguard, so look out for them, they will check your swimming ability and introduce you to at least a couple of members.
  • We are a friendly bunch so don't worry if you come on your own, but you are welcome to come with a friend.

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LGBTQ+ Sports Legacy Report

Understanding Barriers and Opportunities to get more people from the LGBTQ+ Community active in the West Midlands Combined Authority Geography Pride Sports, the LGBTIQ+ sports development and inclusion organisation for England was contracted by the West Midlands Combined Authority to learn about barriers and opportunities to get more people from the LGBTQ+ community active in…

Moseley Road Baths Rennovation Details

In June 2022, Moseley Road Baths was awarded significant funding to deliver a major £32.7million restoration and capital redevelopment project called ‘Diving In’. This 7 year project which includes Moseley Road Baths and Balsall Heath Library, will repair, restore and transform these two civic heritage buildings which sit at the heart of the Balsall Heath…

Moseley Road Baths Temporary Closure

On 2nd October 2023, Moseley Road Baths will temporarily close for essential renovations and improvements to its historic building. This Phase One refurbishment will include the roof, basement, boiler system, slipper baths and other communal areas. It will take 18 months from October 2023 to March 2025. Once this is completed, we should then be…

'Community Matters'

As a community group, we work with and support other like minded organisations in both the LGBT community, and the Birmingham area. We are affiliated to the Gay Outdoor Club, and supported by Birmingham Pride. Our activities and events are often featured in Midlands Zone. We are working with Birmingham LGBT, to help support and promote their sports & wellbeing campaigns, and their ‘Pride in Sports’ events. In the past we have run regualar Transgender swimming sessions in association with TAGS, and ‘Gay Dads’ swimming sessions. We have competed in tournaments run by Out to Swim in London, and London Orca water polo, and also have links with Northern Wave swimming, and Manchester Sharks water polo in Manchester. We have also competed in overseas swimming galas organised by the European Gay & Lesbian Sports Federation, and the Gay & Lesbian International Sports Association. As regular users of Moseley Road Pool, we supported the campaign to save it from closure led by the Friends of Moseley Road Baths, and a number of our members took part in the now famous ‘Terracotta Army’ photo shoot at the pool, which gained national media coverage. Since the running of the pool transfered to Moseley Baths CIO, we have been active in supporting them so that the pool remains an asset for the whole community.

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