Work underway on construction of 50 metre pool at Christchurch’s Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre

The construction of the Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre in Christchurch has reached a significant milestone with work now underway starts on its 50 metre competition pool.

Giving an update on progress of the pool, Blair Jacobs from specialist pool installers, Jacobs Construction, told media “our team is currently assembling the pool using materials shipped from Myrtha Pools in Italy.

"Every component has a code allocated to it and a plan that specifies which area it goes in.

"It’s like a big Meccano kit, there are over 500 panels that make up the pool and they are held together by over 10,000 bolts.

"It will be a very versatile pool, with a movable boom that will allow Christchurch City Council to adjust the pool's length and transform it from a 50-metre Olympic-sized pool into two separate 25-metre pools as needed."

The competition pool will also feature a state-of-the-art movable floor at one end, designed to vary the pool depth from 2.2m for competitive swimming to ground level.

The installation of its timber floor in the venue’s sports courts are also moving forward.

The 110 x 45m community court area has enough space for six indoor netball/basketball/futsal courts, along with line markings for volleyball, badminton, handball, korfball and floorball.

Supplied by Danish manufacturer Junckers the courts are being installed by Hardwood Technology.

Crown agency Rau Paenga is responsible for the design and construction of the facility on the corner of Moorhouse Ave and Antigua St. Christchurch City Council will operate Parakiore when it opens in late 2025.

Image: Installation of the 50 metre pool at the Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre.