Saturday was a black day for competitive swimming in Northland with the final event in the 50m pool at the Whangarei Aquatic Centre, according to Swim Northland president Sylvia Roberts.
But while closure of the long pool is a setback for competitive swimmers, it has cleared the way for the start
of an $8.7 million project, to be completed in about 18 months, which will vastly expand the centre's facilities for recreational swimmers.
Whangarei Aquatic Centre Redevelopment Committee chairman Chris Biddles said yesterday that the pool was expected to be filled in soon to create a carpark.
The committee was probably within a week of signing off the design for a new complex which would give the centre a large wave pool including a children's play lagoon, a double tots pool, spa pool, hydrotherapy pool, two hydroslides, a new entry and reception area and a much larger carpark, he said.
Ms Roberts said the final annual Northland swimming sprint championships in the 40-year-old pool on Saturday meant Northland swimmers would now have to travel to Auckland to meet a Swimming New Zealand requirement for all competitors to qualify for national events by swimming in a 50m pool.
Five hundred people were questioned in a random survey the committee carried out to find out what the public wanted at the aquatic centre. Only six percent wanted to include a 50m pool in the redevelopment plan.
