Thousands booked into Aquatic Centre

The Rotorua Aquatic Centre will be full this summer Photo/Supplied

The Rotorua Aquatic Centre is making waves in the lead-up to summer with thousands of young people expected from Rotorua and out-of-town over coming weeks.

More than 2000 children and youth have already booked into the Rotorua Lakes Council swimming facility, helping to achieve the council's Rotorua 2030 goal of providing 'Outstanding Places to Play'.

Aquatic Centre manager David Pearce said it was always encouraging to see so many local children enjoying the water in a safe environment.

"The Aquatic Centre has always been a popular venue as an end-of-year treat for many local schools, especially with our inflatable activities. We've even got bookings from as far as Gisborne at the end of the month," he said.

The Sanitarium Weet-Bix TRYathlon on December 13 will also see an influx of youngsters, aged 7 to 15, swimming at least one length of the centre's 50m outside pool as part of the annual national event.

Sixteen cities from around New Zealand will be hosting a Sanitarium Weet-Bix TRYathlon from December to April next year. It will be the third time one of the events has taken place in Rotorua, involving weeks of planning by Aquatic Centre staff and involvement on the day.

"We'll have 10 staff in the water to help the kids complete their swim, while four lifeguards keep an eye on things outside the pool. Four more staff members will be busy interacting with spectators and the community, but they always thoroughly enjoy the experience," Mr Pearce said.

"It's great to see the kids getting in and giving it a go - with some learning to swim especially for the event. We've had 50 kids sign-up to our Swim Rotorua Weet-Bix TRYathlon training sessions, which also include running and cycling exercises. We're going to put it all together with a mini practice triathlon for the kids to give them a feel for the actual event."