Olympic Size Pool nearing completion

Jun 10, 2010 Sports

Pre-fab Pool constructed by Myrtha of Italy arrives

By Franklin Wilson

The long wait for Guyana’s first Olympic Size swimming pool will soon be over with the arrival of the Pre Fabricated pool from Italy, manufactured by the internationally renowned Myrtha Pools®.
Minister of Culture Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony speaking with Kaieteur Sport has disclosed that significant advances have been made with the facility apart from the pool. He notes that a Technical Technician of Myrtha Pools® is in Guyana; he is here to oversee the offloading of the pool and will be joined by other colleagues for the full installation shortly.
Members of the Media were yesterday given the opportunity of taking photos of ongoing works at the Liliendaal Site. Workmen were seen busy off loading various parts of the pool supervised by the Myrtha Technician. They were also working on the Main Pavilion and Pump Room.
No work was being done on the Grass Mound which will house spectators and this is due to the current inclement weather. Special grass will be used in this area which would accommodate approximately 800 persons.
Dr. Anthony said that works on the buildings should be completed in another month and a half with painting among other works, currently ongoing.
“So we’re very optimistic, the work is running on schedule and I would say that it {Pool} should be completed in three months time. So far we are very pleased with the efficiency of Myrtha Pools; they are basically going as per schedule and they have a very good track record as a company so we are very pleased with how they are working.”
Myrtha Pools®, accredited by the World Governing Body for Swimming, FINA, has over 45 years of experience characterized by a “360 degree” coverage of the market. Myrtha Pools® has built swimming pools in over 70 Countries around the world: from Iceland to Arabia, from Brazil to Japan, from United States to Australia; in all extremes of climatic and environmental conditions.
Myrtha Pools exclusive technologies have been chosen for Great International Competitions, as Olympic Games and World Swimming Championships.
The overall cost for the pool will amount to about 400 million Guyana dollars which is more than what was originally budgeted. This according to Dr. Anthony is largely due to the foundation which was not really factored in.
“Because of the type of soil, the engineers, when they went on the ground decided that we do a foundation. So below the pool where people don’t see is this huge foundation which has more than 110 greenheart piles that are 70 feet long.”
Dr. Anthony is firmly of the view that with the completion of the pool, it will undoubtedly take the sport to another level. He says it will bring our athletes on par with the rest of the region and given the fact that we have always been competitive even without a 50m pool, Guyana will become a bigger force to reckon with against Regional powerhouses Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica.
“Our athletes will be able to practice and use a facility that will be on par with any other in the world.”
The Ministry is also gearing up to offer programmes and training for a wide cross section of Guyanese. “We want to offer other programmes like coaching, training instructors, classes at various levels including beginners. We are also looking at the possibility of a life guard course.”
Dr. Anthony noted that they will be able to do things that they could not have done before such as Water Polo. The facility he said would have the required dimensions to facilitate this sport.
“We will have to get people who can do the necessary training. Synchronize swimming will also become a possibility, so I think that things that we were unable to do we would now be able to do which is a step in the right direction.”
The Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA) which has been doing their utmost to keep Guyana on the Regional Map along with help from FINA for International competition and exposure for swimmers will be very happy with this brand new facility.
The Minister informed that President of GASA Phillip Walcott has been part of an Oversight Committee and GASA is fully aware of the progress to date. “They are in tune with what we are doing and as we roll out the operational plan for the national swimming pool we will include them and talk to them more specifically on the programming that we want to offer.”
The Ministry is now in the process of developing an in house document on what exactly they want to do with the pool with regards to the offering of various programmes and maintenance.
“We are even looking at a fee structure to analyze what it would cost us to run the facility and what we would be able to offer to associations.”
Currently, the Minister said, associations would buy block time for the uses of the other pools at a subsidized cost and would in turn charge the persons who are coming to swim, an enormous amount and that is defeating the purpose of the subsidy they are given.
“So that is something we would examine in this new structure because we want whatever subsidies we are giving to go directly to the people who are swimming.”
Generally, Dr. Anthony said he is very optimistic that things will go well and while there was a delay in getting the project on stream, everything has worked out well.