Splash revamp for swimming pool
Special event Dogs in Togs to be held before closure
I can’t put a value on this facility, it is absolutely essential. Rob Boston
The Whangamata¯ Real Estate Community Pool will get a $250,000 makeover. The pool is maintained and managed by a committee of volunteers that also employs a pool manager and lifeguards.
The last time the pool received a revamp was in 2017, so it was time for a refresh committee chairman Rob Boston said.
To allow for the work to be undertaken, the pool closed yesterday for about 10 weeks. During this period, the pool will be drained, the surface prepared, and the pool interior repainted.
On its final opening day before the revamp works kick off, the pool hosted a special event for four-legged swimmers: Dogs in Togs.
For this, local dog owners were invited to bring their furry friends along after the pool closed to the public and before the pool was drained.
The pool is a true community project that started in 1986, when leaks were discovered in the old school pool and a solution was needed.
The whole community got behind the project and fundraising, with local tradies providing free labour and members of the community bringing down lunches and morning teas.
“We set up the whole thing as a quick build and built the two houses in one weekend [in 1987] . . . There
was so much food left over in fact that on Sunday night, all the leftovers were taken to the community hall for a shared meal,” architect Bruce Scott said.
Boston said the facility had gone from strength to strength after recently receiving $80,000 in funding from the Whangamata¯ Community Board and generating $120,000
through entry fees.
He said it cost an estimated $200,000 annually to operate the facility, which had recently extended its opening hours and expanded its operations.
The Whangamata¯ Swim Club and Learn-to-swim classes, all run from the community pool, along with a programme of Aquafit and Aqua
Aerobics classes.
Boston said the pool was an asset for the Whangamata¯ community and those in surrounding towns.
“I can’t put a value on this facility, it is absolutely essential.
“It used to open for only part of the year, heat pumps were installed a couple of years ago, we now have the school using it 12 months of the year; there is social swimming, a local swim club, and aquarobics classes.
“I have to say, for some people it is a life-changing experience.”
Many would use the pool throughout the summer, but for the past two winters, swimming had been available throughout the year in the heated pool.
When the pool reopens for the third winter, it will be fresh and ready for the community to swim at a “very pleasant” 27C, Boston said.
Boston said there were even plans for further expansion, saying a learnto-swim therapeutic pool for parents and toddlers was in the pipeline, a project estimated to cost about $400,000.
The upcoming upgrades, including draining the pool, surface preparations, and the pool interior repainting, were made possible through grants from the Thamescoromandel District Council, Pub Charities, sponsors, and the volunteer hours invested by the committee.
From 3pm on April 3, the Whangamata¯ Community Pool closed for refurbishment, and is expected to reopen in early June.
Regular updates on the project will be available via email, Facebook and at whangapool.co.nz.