Stadium Pool needs renovation

Angu RAJENDRAN

The rules for the National Swimming Meet 2010 state that in the relay event, the swimmers who enter the pool from the shallow end of the pool will not dive in but will instead stand with their backs against the wall of the pool and will start with a push-off against the wall.

A Strange rule indeed when our swimmers are used to the 'State of the Art' Sugathadasa Swimming Pool - one of the best in the whole of South East Asia.

This year's National Swimming Meet is being conducted at Ananda College Swimming Pool where the shallow end is only three feet deep. This can become life threatening to inexperienced swimmers who cannot enter safely in shallow water.

An Olympic Standard pool is fifty metres long. There are three pools in Colombo which are 50 metres long. One of them is the Ananda College Pool, another is the Police Pool in Narahenpita and the third - the truly magnificent Sugathadasa Stadium pool.

Not only is the Sugathadasa pool perfect for International Meets with its correct length, depth and deck area but it is also the only pool in the whole country with computerized timing device.

This leaves no room for error when the difference between the first and second place may be just a couple of micro seconds sometimes.

Every moment is recorded by the computer accurately, so whether the swimmer touches the finish over the water or under the water, there can be no room for human error.

SLAASU officials are on high alert since last October when the Sugathadasa Stadium Pool, the real gem in Sri Lanka's sports facilities, literally went under water with a thunderstorm. The forces of nature attacked our Paradise Isle once again causing destruction in the swimming pool. Some of the tiles were ripped off due to the force of the wind on the pool waters causing leaks in the pool and crippling Sri Lanka's Aquatic Sports.

Most meets have been converted to short course events to be held in twenty five metre pools. Many of the meets that are held in the fifty Police Pool are complicated with crowds of swimmers almost falling in the water due to the very small pavilion and deck area. And much confusion prevails while marshalling swimmers.

Most of all, the nagging doubt that despite the high efficiency and expertise of the SLAASU officials could there be room for human error on a hot and humid day in the sun, with event after event requiring high concentration for many hours.

It is said that the Sugathadasa Swimming Pool and sports Complex was built in the 1960s by Sports loving Minister V A Sugathadasa. This stadium and swimming pool that has been refurbished over the years has been streets ahead of all stadiums in this Asian region.

The only fifty metre pool in the whole country with computerized timing, the Sugathadasa Stadium has been the venue for almost all Sri Lanka Aquatics and Sports Union(SLAASU) swimming meets.

The 1991 and 2006 SAAF games saw amazing swimming races at this complex where the computer gave precise results up to micro seconds to help SLAASU officials confirm their timing.

Now, it is heart rending to see that while our swimmers prepare for the Commonwealth Games next month, the Sugathadasa Stadium Pool lies lone and neglected. A swamp with murky rain water: a breeding ground for mosquitos with a computer board that has not showed any results for almost a year.

If the pool could speak it would speak in the words of the poet Shelley

My name is Sugathadasa, king of pools,

Look on my works ye Mighty and despair!

Can the most magnificent and only State of the Art be brought back to its former glory for the young swimmers of our country who richly deserve a glorious future?