Pietermaritzburg is set to make waves in the aquatic sports world with the construction of a multimillion-rand Olympic-standard aquatic park at St Charles College.
The R170-million facility will be the first of its kind in South Africa, with the first two phases slated for completion in next November.
St Charles College principal Allen van Blerk said the new swimming facility would feature state-of-the-art amenities including a Myrtha pool, acclaimed as the best in the industry and previously used in the Olympics and the World Aquatics Championships.
The pool, currently being manufactured in Milan, measures 52.5m in length and comes equipped with a 2.5m bulkhead that allows for a range of configurations. It can transform into either a single 50m Olympic-standard pool or two 25m competition pools, facilitating short-course and long-course championships.
Additionally, it can convert into two water polo pools or an international standard water polo field.
The project is being spearheaded by Xhawula uMgungundlovu Aquatics NPC (Xhawula), a non-profit organisation, which has secured a long-term lease on the land from the St Charles Property Trust for at least 25 years. This venture aims to provide high-quality facilities not just for elite athletes but also for schools and educational institutions engaged in public benefit activities.
The comprehensive design of the aquatics park includes a temperature-controlled 50m pool with a bulkhead, two learn-to-swim pools (one indoor and one outdoor), and a 25m x 25m warm-up pool to support significant aquatic events. The park will be supported by other amenities such as a gym and a restaurant.
Van Blerk said if South Africa was to feature prominently on the world aquatics stage and bring home medals from the 2028 Olympic Games, it would take a coordinated aquatics ecosystem.
“We are just one element of that ecosystem, providing an independent, secure, home for serious swimmers to train for world events. At the heart of this dream is Pietermaritzburg as the epicentre of extraordinary mass participation events and to generate economic activity in our region that offers hope and employment, directly and indirectly, to the next generation,” he said.
He said the objective of the park was to be a high-performance aquatic facility in the province, uplift Pietermaritzburg and attract investment, develop and train swimmers of all levels and ages and be a premier aquatics destination where Africa’s swimmers can prepare for Los Angeles 2028 (Olympics).
“The park will be a key piece of the Southern African aquatics ecosystem providing a training and competition facility for South African swimmers, that include able-bodied, paralympic and special Olympic athletes.
“It is intended as a base for the greater aquatics community. This is an inclusive park which places the city of Pietermaritzburg as an accessible centre of excellence for able-bodied, paralympic and special Olympic training.
“Together with the cooperation of other schools in the city, and local swimming clubs with a proud tradition of excellent coaching, we aim to bring people from Southern Africa to Pietermaritzburg to participate in provincial, national and regional events that will provide the competition our aspirant athletes need to make it to the highest level of world competition,” said Van Blerk.
He said they believed in the transformative power of swimming and its ability to unite communities.
Theo Verster, SA Paralympic coach and CEO of the SA Aquatics Park, said this was a great and exciting opportunity and what SA needed.
“It’s going to be a top-quality facility for South Africans to train and for international teams to use for training camps. The Myrtha pool is the Rolls Royce of swimming pools.
“This facility will give swimmers the opportunity to train in SA instead of going elsewhere to acclimatise and train for summer competitions. It will also be available to use by anyone at a fee. People will have the opportunity to swim alongside their swimming hero,” said Verster.
