A new aquatics centre in Pietermaritzburg is now home to the 50m pool used at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, The Witness reported.
The centre is called AquaPark. It was the idea of the St Charles College Board of Governors and its Executive Head, Allen van Blerk. They wanted a top aquatic hub for the region.
Olympic champion Tatjana Smith, a brand partner for AquaPark, spoke at the launch of the pool earlier in the year. “My one reason for why I swam was that I’ve always wanted to prove that we can from South Africa with limited resources. But now we have access to tools that we never had access to, like a facility like this, so to have world-class in South Africa, it just tops everything,” she said.
Smith knows the pool well. She won her first world title in it in Fukuoka in 2023. According to the report, it was also the first world title ever won by a South African woman.
The Myrtha pool arrived in South Africa in seven containers. Workers put it together on site in just seven days. The whole facility took 11 months to finish.
A movable wall weighing 12.5 tons can change the pool from 50m to 25m. The change takes about 17 minutes. This lets the centre host different kinds of training and races.
During the SA Short Course Swimming Championships in Pietermaritzburg, Smith used AquaPark as a warm-up pool. Former Para swimming world champion Kat Swanepoel also used it.
Smith, a four-time Olympic medallist, returned to competitive swimming last month after two years away. She said she believes the centre will help the next group of athletes. “Everything aligned and it’s something bigger that’s happening here and something that’s going to change the aquatic sports, I think, forever in South Africa,” she said.
The centre is not only for top swimmers. It offers club swimming, masters swimming, nipper swimming, learn-to-swim lessons and water polo. A lifesaving club is also being set up.
AquaPark CEO Theo Verster is a former Olympic swimmer. He said he wants the centre to cover all water sports and be open to everyone.
“I want people to understand that they’re welcome. And it’s aquatics. It’s not just swimming,” Verster said. “That is what is going to make this place more viable and bring more families in because one family member can play water polo while the other one is swimming,” he added.
The centre is a non-profit facility. According to the report, it was paid for entirely with private money.
The building was designed with access in mind. There are accessible toilets on the pool deck, as well as ramps and parking. Platforms can be placed in the two-metre deep pool so less confident swimmers have somewhere to stand.
Swanepoel said this is one of the centre’s biggest strengths. “Everyone talks about the facility, and yes, it’s a world-class facility, but for me personally it’s the accessibility,” she said.
The centre has seats for about 600 people. Another 400 to 500 seats can be added, which would allow it to host larger national events.
Verster said he hopes the centre will inspire other parts of the country. “Hope for other people in other provinces that they can also build a facility like this,” he said.
South Africa is one of the countries exploring a bid to host the 2036 Olympic Games. Future plans for AquaPark include a separate learn-to-swim pool and an extra 25m warm-up and cool-down pool.
Source: this article is based on reporting by The Witness. Image: The Witness. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice News desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Kgomotso Maake covers news and politics for Tzaneen Voice. Kgomotso reports on government, Parliament, municipalities, courts, crime and service delivery across South Africa, with a close eye on how national decisions reach towns like Tzaneen and the wider Limpopo province. Stories are written in plain English and focus on the facts: who made the decision, what it means, and what happens next.