Mount Maunganui College. Photo / Mead Norton
“Long overdue.”
That’s former Olympic and Commonwealth swimmer Moss Burmester’s reaction to news his hometown of Tauranga is a big step closer to finally getting a 50m swimming pool.
On Tuesday, Tauranga City Council approved a loan-funded grant of more than $5 million to support the expansion of Mount Maunganui College pool from 33m to 50m – Olympic length.
The council also agreed to provide ongoing support to subsidise community use of the pool.
Burmester said when he was competing, he was constantly travelling to Hamilton and Auckland so he could train in a 50m pool.
He ended up moving from Tauranga to Auckland as there were better facilities and more “training buddies”.
The swimmer won gold and bronze medals at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and placed fourth at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
He said a 50m pool in Tauranga was “absolutely needed”.
He said young athletes often moved to Auckland, leaving few older high-performing swimmers in the area.
“There’s a lot of talent that often gets developed in Tauranga … it’s got the foundation to be a great development area, but it doesn’t hold on to the people because of the training facilities.”
He hoped better facilities would attract top coaches for young swimmers who wanted to progress to the level he achieved.
Mount Maunganui College principal Alastair Sinton said the expansion project would not happen without the council’s support.
He said the plan was to establish high-quality facilities for a community that contributed significantly to local and national water safety, sports, competition and recreation.
Sinton said the current pool was more than 60 years old and was essentially “hanging on”.
“In partnership with the Aquatic Trust, we have kept it running and improved the facilities over time, but there is no disguising the fact that the pool is due for a significant upgrade to meet the school and community’s needs.”
Sinton said the region had always punched above its weight.
“We have incredible young athletes at the school who regularly use these facilities; however, at the levels they are competing at, they need better, larger facilities.”
The expansion would help improve water safety and allow more competition with “similar-sized cities that have had excellent facilities for years”.
Mount Maunganui Aquatic Centre Trust trustee and Omanu Beach Surf Life Saving Club member Donal Boyle said the trust was set up in 2012 with the primary purpose of developing the college pool.
Back then, the unheated, six-lane pool was only being used in summer. The trust went to the council in 2013 asking for it to be expanded for further use.
The council was focused on Baywave at the time, so the trust redirected and decided to heat the pool in 2015, allowing year-round use.
In October last year, the trust went back to the council with a plan to expand the pool to 50m with 10 lanes.
The council confirming its support was a “great relief”, Boyle said.
“We’re all ecstatic about it. We’re finally getting something we’ve been wanting for a long time.”
He said the trust was pursuing additional funding and had received support of $1.2m from TECT, with another $750,000 still to secure – which he hoped could be done before works started in May 2026.
The council agreed to provide a $4.945 million (plus GST), 10-year loan-funded operational grant for pool construction, and an annual operational grant of up to $340,000 (plus GST) to provide community access to the pool.
In a statement, the council said the pool would continue to be run by the Omanu Swim Club, with the Aquatic Centre Trust.
Deputy Mayor Jen Scoular said the decision reflected strong community demand and the benefits of a 50m pool for aquatic sports and community recreation – including freeing up Baywave lane space.
The facility would primarily serve structured aquatic training and training camps, while providing community access under agreed terms.
The council also confirmed it was exploring options to accelerate the Memorial Park Aquatic Centre project, potentially bringing construction forward to as soon as late next year.
The project, originally deferred to 2027-28, is being reassessed, with a steering group has been established to refine the scope, budget and design.
Timelines being considered were December 2026 to March 2029 or September 2027 to December 2029, but both would require adjustments in the council’s budget planning.
Mayor Mahé Drysdale said bringing the project forward would give residents and sports groups access to a modern, fit-for-purpose aquatic centre sooner.
It needed to be weighed against other critical investments, however.
The council called off its original $123m redevelopment of the Memorial Park Aquatic Centre in 2024 to pursue a value-for-money redesign.
Revised estimates suggested this could cost $80m–$100m.
It would retain the Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre, while providing a facility for lane swimming, aquatic sports, hydrotherapy, learn-to-swim programmes and family recreation.
Ayla Yeoman is a journalist based in Tauranga. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Communications and Politics & International Relations from the University of Auckland, and has been a journalist since 2022.