Club in deep water if pool shuts
One of the country’s oldest and bestknown swimming clubs will lose its home of 110 years if Christchurch’s Wharenui pool closes.
The South Island’s first indoor swimming pool, which opened in 1968, could be ‘‘decommissioned’’ after the new Metro Sports Facility, now known as the Parakiore Recreation and Sports Centre, opens in 2022.
The Wharenui Swim Club was founded in 1911 and has a rich history in both New Zealand and Canterbury sport.
As well as producing Olympians and Commonwealth champions, it has taught 200,000 Cantabrians to swim.
The club, which has about 500 learn-toswim members and 100 squad members, leases the Wharenui pool and gym from the Christchurch City Council. Its future will be ‘‘precarious’’ if the site closes.
Club president Chris Averill said options would include trying to raise the cash to buy the building or relocating to Parakiore and leasing swimming lanes.
Wharenui is also used by 13 schools for swimming sports and by a range of community groups including Parafed Canterbury, an Islamic Women’s swimming group and Te Waka Pounamu.
Averill said the club had been ‘‘working extremely hard’’ over the past two years to preserve the pool.
‘‘The city council believes the facility has passed its use-by date and has produced figures showing it will cost
$700,000 per year for the next 10 years to maintain the facilities,’’ he said.
‘‘We appreciate the facility is aged, but we are committed to spending money to get our own feasibility study done to give us an idea as to how much it will cost to future-proof the facility for the next 20 years.’’
The $21 million Metro Sports Facility on Moorhouse Ave will include a 10-lane,
50-metre pool, a learn-to-swim pool, and a diving pool.
David Bailey, the council’s recreation and sport services manager, said a 2006 plan found Wharenui would need to be replaced or decommissioned from 2020. Parakiore – the largest aquatic facility in the country – will be 2 kilometres from Wharenui. Hornby Pool, which will also open in 2022, will be 5km away.
‘‘These two new facilities and the current pools of Jellie Park and Pioneer will provide facilities and services for the community currently using Wharenui,’’ Bailey said.
The costs to maintain and operate Wharenui for the next 10 years were estimated to be more than $7.7m.
Campaigners have launched an online petition calling on the council to keep the pool open, and they are encouraging people to make a submission as part of the council’s long-term plan.
At the 1974 Commonwealth Games held in Christchurch, New Zealand’s 16-strong swimming team featured four swimmers from Wharenui.
Some of the club’s swimmers have even had Christchurch streets named after them, such as Mark Treffers and Jaynie Parkhouse.
‘‘The club has produced 56 swimmers and waterpolo players who have represented New Zealand at either the Olympics, Commonwealth Games or World Championships,’’ Averill said.
‘‘It is not only our elite swimmers we are proud of. Wharenui caters for many different groups in the community who will all miss out if Wharenui closes.’’
Submissions on the long-term plan are open until April 18.