CENTENNIAL POOL

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28702, 27 September 1958, Page 8

CENTENNIAL POOL

Opening Day On October 6

On Monday, October 6, 500,000 gallons of water in the Centennial Pool, Christchurch, will be heated to a temperature of about 75 degrees Fahrenheit, and at 7 a.m. the pool will be open to swimmers.

Every year the pool is closed to swimmers about the end of April, and opens about the beginning of October. During the winter the pool is left filled and this protects the tiles from damage by hard frosts.

Next Monday the pool’s two all-the-year-round attendants, Messrs D. Olds and J. Bliss, will make a start on cleaning the pool before it is opened. In an old dinghy they will float around the sides of the pool cleaning -the tiles just above the water. On Monday evening the water in the pool will be let out —there is an outlet into the Avon river—and by Tuesday morning it should be empty- The two attendants will scrub the tiles on the bottom of the pool and replace any that are cracked.

The pool will be filled again, probably on Thursday morning, depending on the condition of the tiles. At the latest it will be filled by Saturday, and the water will be heated at the week-end.

The diving tower at the pool is in good condition. Last season it was painted a light cream colour, and this appears to have worn well in the off season. At present all that is required to make the tower look like new is for the chrome hand rails to be polished, and this will be done before the pool is opened. The fibre glass springboard used on the three-metre platform last season was a success, and it is intended to use the same board this year.