Mississauga considering installing Olympic-sized swimming pool

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Published May 25, 2021 at 1:07 pm

swimmingpool

The Mississauga Aquatic Club is calling City Council’s motion to send their request for a 50-metre Olympic-sized swimming pool to staff for consideration another “step forward.”

The club, founded nearly 60 years ago, wants the City to build a 50-metre pool to support training for the club’s competitive swimmers, as well providing recreational opportunities for other users, such as kayakers and synchronized swimmers.

Swimmers train at a number of 25-metre pools around Mississauga, but not having a Olympic-sized pool to train at puts the elite swimmers at a competitive disadvantage once the long-course season gets underway each spring.

A 50-metre pool would go a long in changing that narrative, the club said in a statement.

“We have demonstrated the financial feasibility and the economic impact of this facility, the benefit to the city for sport and the enhancement of community recreation and leisure,” the club declared. “(We are) hopeful that our municipal leaders look at the innovative design and management concepts we have proposed and do not get anchored in past attempts and outdated models.”

“We can get this done in a financially responsible manner benefitting all facets of our community.”

Whether the proposed pool becomes part of a larger project that would allow the City to bid on major events, such as the Commonwealth Games or the World Aquatic Championships, or is simply used for community and club purposes, will be determined during the review process, which will become part of the 2022 Recreation Master Plan.

“City staff will need to further consider the opportunities for event hosting, costing and potential locations as part of the next Future Directions Master Planning process – which is to include public consultation,” said Lindsay Noronha, a Senior Communications Advisor with the City.

The Future Directions Master Plan process included extensive online and in-person consultation with the public and stakeholder groups. While the 2019 Future Directions Recreation Master Plan did not include a recommendation for a 50-metre pool, it will be explored again during the next planning cycle, Noronha added.

The swim club recently completed a feasibility study and has begun a capital campaign, thanks in part to a grant from Ontario’s Trillium Foundation.

“Our objective,” the club said in a statement, “is to increase sport tourism in the area, support our 600 swim club members who swim competitively, and to enhance aquatic sport, recreation and leisure opportunities for the broader Mississauga community.”

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