Hidden depths to QEII’s newest pool

The eastern suburbs’ new swimming pool is taking the city’s aquatic facilities to a new level.

The new 25-metre pool at QE II Park’s sport and recreation centre is being built with a movable floor so the depth of the water can be varied at the push of the button

The new 25-metre pool at QEII is being built with a movable floor.

Work on the movable floor is ahead of schedule with half the floor already in place.

“The 25 metre pool is the QEII facility’s main pool, and what this floor gives us is versatility with how we use it,” says Nigel Cox, Operations Manager with Christchurch City Council’s Recreation and Sports Unit.

“We can tailor the depth of the water in a matter of minutes at any time of day, to suit whatever’s going on in the pool at the time. So we can go for a full two metre depth while people are swimming laps in the morning, then raise it to a one metre depth for kids taking our Swimsmart classes in the afternoon.”

The floor is raised, lowered and tilted by cables and pulleys under the floor, powered by hydraulic rams in a nearby plant room. This means the rams can be easily maintained. The floor is made from stainless steel beams and surrounded by foam-filled packs to make the floor naturally buoyant, so it can move up and down through the two metres of water.

“It’s a very cool feature that let us offer a bigger range of activities to the community, and it makes QEII’s pool an ideal choice for people of all ages and abilities,’’ Mr Cox says.

Work on the QEII Recreation and Sports Centre has been progressing well and the $38.6 million facility is set to open for Queen’s Birthday weekend.

The new facility has been built to replace the pool and fitness facilities lost with the demolition of the original earthquake-damaged QEII facility, which was built to host the 1974 Commonwealth Games.

As well as the 25 metre pool it will have a leisure pool, lazy river, a Learn to Swim pool, and a water adventure playground.

The new sport and recreation centre at QEII is on track to open at Queen's Birthday weekend.