A New Chapter in Royal College Swimming

Royal College has a proud and an illustrious history of aquatic sports, having produced champion swimmers, divers and water polo players for 75 years. The Royal College Swimming Pool was officially opened in 1968. No further major construction was carried out since then.

In 2002, the Royal College Union Board of Management of the Swimming Pool put forward a proposal to construct a new spectator stand. The Group of ’92, which comprises the alumni of Royal College who left the School in 1992 (‘RCG92’) took up the challenge of constructing this new Stand. Utilizing all the talent, expertise and resources at its disposal, RCG92 designed, funded, constructed and completed this new Stand. In addition to the new Stand, RCG 92 also constructed a modern and aesthetically pleasing entrance to the Swimming Pool.

The Project Committee of RCG92 set about the task of completing this project in 3 phases, in a planned sequence to facilitate the project’s cash-flow and construction procurement. Phase I consisted of the construction of the open terrace; Phase II was constructing the overhead canopy and Phase III was the construction of the new entrance.

Phase I of the project commenced at the auspicious time of 9.04 am on 22nd Aug 2003 and was completed in Oct-2003. Phase II commenced in May-2007 and completed in Sep-2007. Finally, Phase III commenced in Dec-2008 and completed in Jun-2009. The total project cost was approximately Rs. 6.0 million.

As Royal College celebrates 175 years, the Group of 92 has added another magnificent edifice to School, for the benefit of the future generations of Royalists.

The new Stand will be ceremonially declared opened by the Navy Commander, Vice Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe (another illustrious son of the School) on the 5th of February 2010 at 6.30 pm.