Ballarat Aquatic Centre to reopen but clubs want 50 metre pool

After almost a year of work, the redeveloped Ballarat Aquatic Centre will be open to the public this weekend.

The YMCA-managed facility's two new programmable warm-water pools along with new change rooms, spa and steam room, and cafe will be opened as part of a community event on Sunday.

City of Ballarat Portfolio Councillor for People and Communities, Des Hudson, said the warm-water pools had wheelchair access and an area for rehabilitation, stating that the design is "the only one of its kind in Australia."

Councillor Hudson added that the new pools would create further space for swimming and recreation in other areas of the centre helping the centre cater to the needs of everyone in the community.

Councillor Hudson stated "the centre has an attendance of 550,000 per year and is a key recreational facility of regional significance."

The $4.5 million redevelopment project has been jointly funded by the City of Ballarat along with the Victorian and Federal Governments.

However, work at the centre may not be complete with the Ballarat City Council considering developing a 50-metre indoor swimming pool. As a result of pressure from local swimming clubs, the Council has commissioned a report into the city's future needs for swimming facilities.

Sustainability Executive Manager Ian Rossiter told a recent Council meeting that a 50 metre indoor pool would be one of the issues looked at in the report.

Swimming clubs have pushed for several years for such a facility to be included in the redevelopment of the Ballarat Aquatic Centre, arguing that the lack of an indoor 50 metre pool put young competition swimmers at a disadvantage to their city counterparts and that top class athletes could be lost to Melbourne clubs.

The Council had previously held that the cost of building and maintaining a 50 metre pool was too high, with Councillor Hudson saying such a pool would be discussed as an option as the city's population grew.

"The issue I think will always come down to the costs of a 50 metre pool against what the majority of people are using the pool for."

Councillor Hudson said when the Council drew up its previous aquatic strategy, surveys indicated a majority of pool users went to Ballarat's pools for recreation and not lap swimming, stating âour experience and knowledge shows lap swimmers are probably less than 5% of total aquatic users."

Ballarat Gold Swimming Club President Anthony Hoffmann said the city needed a 50 metre indoor pool to match Melbourne facilities and regional centres such as Geelong and Bendigo.

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