News
Northcote Aquatic & Recreation Pool Refurbishment
Northcote Aquatic & Recreation Centre in nearing the completion of its extreme makeover, which over the past two years has seen, amongst a range of other improvements, the resurfacing of the centre car park, the extension of the existing gymnasium, the provision of two new health suites and the installation of lighting around the outdoor 50-metre pool.
Split over two financial years, the $2.15m capital works project comes as a result of the collaborative efforts of Sport & Recreation Victoria, YMCA Victoria and the City of Darebin.
A key element of the project's second stage of development is the refurbishment of the outdoor 50-metre pool itself. Having commenced in June, industry representatives were able to witness first-hand, as part of a special presentation and site visit held on Wednesday 1 October, the work that has been undertaken by AVP Commercial Pools in the construction of the highly-regarded 'Myrtha Pool' at Northcote. It is anticipated that the pool will open for business in November, and is a stunning example of the technology available to councils and private agencies in the growing challenge of re-vitalising their existing infrastructure.
Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre's outdoor 50-metre pool is another illustration of the 'Myrtha Pool' technology, which utilises a patented pre-engineered modular system to create new water spaces or convert existing pools to match modern-day public expectations. Northcote's challenge is one that is replicated across many municipalities around Victoria - preserving the legacy of the 50-metre pools that boomed in the middle of the 20th century. The challenge for councils now is to design a pool for the next 30-50 years, considering that what was in vogue for the past 30-50 years may not be what is needed in the future.
Councils are considering what they can add to their water space to satisfy the needs of ratepayers. For example, the addition of spa beds and spa benches into facilities throughout Europe will become more commonplace in Australia in the future. An outdoor 50-metre pool does not always have to be an outdoor 50-metre pool, with existing pools able to be transformed into new shapes and sizes - either by simply adding to the length or width of a pool, or converting a pool from a common rectangular shape to a free-form beach entry.
Thankfully technology is now providing alternatives that can reduce the significant down-time associated with pool refurbishment and therefore can maximise pool availability.
(
http://www.darebin.vic.gov.au/page/page.asp?Page_id=5855
, Don Nicholson, 2008)
Warmun Swimming Pool Opening
The Warmun swimming pool was recently jointly opened by
Royal Life Saving is responsible for managing this pool along with four other pools in Remote Aboriginal Communities throughout the Pilbara
These include improvements in children’s health such as reduced incidence of ear and skin infection
Royal Life Saving look forward to working closely with the Warmun Community to make sure that the benefits experienced in our other pools are replicated in Warmun.
