Rotorua Aquatic Centre celebrates new 50m outdoor pool with a splash

Nizzan Tamiau, 10, and Douglas Tamiau, 9, having fun on the inflatable at the Rotorua Aquatic Centre. Photo / Shauni James

The Rotorua Aquatic Centre celebrated the opening of its new outdoor 50m pool with a splash, inviting the community along for a pool party.

There were inflatables in the pool and plenty of happy families at the pools on Sunday.

The day included the Tarzan swing, mini-tramp, a scavenger hunt and a winning wheel.

Rotorua Aquatic Centre facility manager Leah Burgess said the centre had a family-fun day once a month, and that, with the opening of the new 50m pool being earlier this month, they wanted to celebrate the two together.

"It's been a long time coming. We had been talking about renovations for many years and for it to finally happen is fantastic."

She encouraged people to head along and check out the new outdoor pool, and said it was the first step in renovations for the Rotorua Aquatic Centre.

Nizzan, 10, and Douglas, 9, Tamiau were both enjoying the challenges of the inflatable on the new pool today.

They said they enjoyed taking on all the obstacles and trying not to fall off.

They liked to visit the Rotorua Aquatic Centre to hang out with friends, they said.

The 50m pool is now slightly deeper and slightly longer, has a new filtration system, stainless steel gutters, liner and a new decking area surrounding the pool.

A bulkhead has also been installed to provide extra options for lane and leisure swimming.

Rotorua Lakes Council set aside funding in the 2018-2028 Long-term Plan to upgrade the facility.

The work to improve the outdoor changing rooms is expected to begin around June/July and should take about 10 weeks to complete.