Underwater hockey club in pool battle

Despite requests, we have not been given any confirmation that we will be allowed to return to the pool without a $20,000 bond.Graeme Lynam Tauranga underwater hockey players are halfway to winning a long battle to resume games in the Baywave Aquatic and Leisure Centre's 25m lap pool.
The impact of the puck being hit along the floor of the pool was blamed for tile breakages, particularly along the base of the pool wall, leading to the club being banned nearly two years ago.
The patches of broken ceramic tiles, with edges so sharp they could easily slice open fingers or toes, are still there.
Tauranga Underwater Hockey Club's pool liaison officer Dr Graeme Lynam said damage appeared within six months of Baywave opening in 2005 and hockey was blamed.
However, the sport's administrators were puzzled that the sticks and pucks did not appear to damage the tile surrounds of other pools in Tauranga and Rotorua.
An investigation concluded that although the impact of the puck could superficially be contributing to the breakages, the actual cause was a pre-existing weakness in the materials between the tiles and the pool's concrete slab.
Dr Lynam, a city dentist, made a video which graphically showed the extent of the problem, the broken tiles, and what underwater hockey argued was why the tiles were being damaged - the mistake was to allow silicon to spill slightly up the joint between the pool's floor and wall, so that a small lip of it ended up sitting behind the base of the tiles.
"The problem is always around the junction of the silicon."
Underwater hockey was frustrated because the pool was ideal for games. Dr Lynam said matches were enormously enhanced by its 2m depth, water clarity and tile-lined bottom.
The club's 80 secondary school players currently used the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic's pool which was too shallow, a little murky and its concrete floor was not conducive to sliding the puck.
Dr Lynam said it was only now, after three years of discussions, that the council pools company, Tauranga City Aquatics Ltd (TCAL), had reluctantly accepted that it was a design/build problem.
"Despite requests, we have not been given any confirmation that we will be allowed to return to the pool without a $20,000 bond."
TCAL chief executive Tania Delahunty told the club the damage was a combination of design, construction and underwater hockey. The only injuries from the tiles had been to underwater hockey players and the Department of Labour supported the decision to remove hockey from the pool.
Deputy Mayor David Stewart said TCAL intended to empty the pool and repair the tiles.
"The pool needs to be fixed and fixed in such a way that hockey could use it, so it can stand up to the pucks and sticks."
Cr Stewart said TCAL had not been able to establish who was liable to pay, although it would not be an expensive fix. The biggest cost would be the lost revenue from pool users while it was emptied and fixed.
No date has been set for the closure although it would not be for about a year, to avoid clashing with agreements with existing pool users.