Stirling Leisure - Inglewood named Western Australia's aquatic recreation facility of the year

The recently redeveloped Stirling Leisure - Inglewood has been named Facility of the Year at LIWA Aquatics' 2025 Western Australian Aquatic Recreation Industry Awards.

The awards were presented on Thursday night at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre as part of LIWA Aquatics' annual Aquatic and Recreation Conference and Trade Show.

A new category for 2025, Facility of the Year was created to recognise aquatic facilities that demonstrate community impact and innovation in design, development and operation.

The win comes after the City of Stirling completed a two-stage $14.5 million redevelopment of Stirling Leisure - Inglewood last year, with the support of $1 million in Western Australian Government funding.

The redevelopment was headlined by the construction of the largest public outdoor lap pool in the southern hemisphere, with 2.5 million litres of water across 14 lanes.

The lap pool features a submersible swim wall capable of splitting the 50m lanes into two 25m lanes, allowing activities such as lap swimming and water polo to happen at the same time.

In a Western Australian-first, the redevelopment also included the introduction of Lynxight aquatic safety technology powered by artificial intelligence.

The Lynxight system, which is set to be rolled out at Stirling Leisure - Balga next year, improves response times by sending real-time smartwatch alerts to lifeguards when it detects a potential problem in the pool.

Beyond its facilities and features, Stirling Leisure - Inglewood is a vibrant community hub that fosters wellbeing and connection across all ages, backgrounds and abilities.

Through events, inclusive programming and commitment to quality customer service, it is becoming an increasingly valued part of the community with a growing membership base.

Welcoming receipt of the award, City of Stirling Mayor, Mark Irwin advised "being the inaugural winner of Facility of the Year is an honour for the City and everyone involved with Stirling Leisure - Inglewood.

“Innovation was at the core of the redevelopment, which transformed an ageing aquatic centre into a first-rate facility that will serve the community for many years to come.

“A lot of effort has gone into making this a high-performing and inclusive centre and that effort has led to a significant increase in membership.”

This is the second year in a row that Stirling Leisure - Inglewood has been recognised at the Awards, taking out the Aquatic Facility Safety Award in 2024.

The City also received a Highly Commended award on Thursday night, with City Senior Operations Officer Shelby Hyde recognised in the Aquatic Technical Operator of the Year category.

Image: City of Stirling Operations Coordinator Duncan Hutton, Manager Recreation and Leisure Services Cheyne Cameron, Team Leader Customer Experience Rozlyn Reynolds and Deputy Mayor Suzanne Migdale at the ceremony on Thursday.