Making waves over pool size

THERE’S no question Wednesday’s tri-level government announcement of a new, $40.5-million regional recreation centre in Halifax’s Mainland Common is good news for Nova Scotians.

The multi-use facility, which will serve as the primary venue for the 2011 Canada Winter Games, will include two 25-metre pools, four full-sized gymnasiums, a 200-metre, six-lane indoor track, a field house and a host of other health and fitness-related spaces. There will also be space for various community activities.

Premier Rodney MacDonald was right. The new facility should help to encourage more Nova Scotians to live healthy, active lives.

The good news has been tempered somewhat by critics who argue the new facility should have included a 50-metre pool, which is the minimum length required for hosting national and international swimming competitions.

City officials have responded that with two 50-metre pools already in HRM – one at Dalhousie and the other, Centennial, slated to receive up to $3 million in upgrades to extend its life for another 15 to 20 years – there’s no current justification for the increased capital expense and higher ongoing operating costs building a third 50-metre pool at the new facility would represent.

A consultant’s report recommended Halifax ensure two 50-metre pools operate in HRM. If Centennial’s life were not to be extended, the report said, the new facility provided a perfect opportunity for constructing a new, larger pool.

While we understand the rationale behind the city’s choice to refurbish Centennial for now, there’s no question that a new 50-metre pool on the Mainland Common site would have been of greater benefit to athletes, including paddlers and divers, wishing to train indoors year-round.

The question of a second 50-metre pool, however, has only been deferred. Centennial must be replaced eventually.