New pool captures Cook’s imagination

Apr 16 2008 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

A breathtaking new Olympic pool opens at the end of this week and, as Mark Douglas hears, it can have a dramatic impact on swimming in the region

OLYMPIC hopeful Chris Cook is predicting the new Sunderland Aquatic Centre will spark a golden era for North East swimming when it opens to the public on Friday.

The Olympic-sized pool, which has risen in the shadows of the Stadium of Light at a cost of £20m, boasts a ten-lane 50-metre pool alongside a 25-metre pool and diving boards inside its slickly-designed exterior.

As the architects responsible for its distinctive arc design are keen to point out, it will be the only Olympic-sized pool for over 100 miles, and with 500 seats in the viewing gallery it has been built with one eye on bringing national and possibly even international swimming events to the region.

It is already on the list of possible training venues for the 2012 Olympics – an honour bestowed on it seven months before it even opened – and has moveable floors, allowing for the depth to be varied depending on whether it is being used for serious training or just casual swimmers.

It has been earmarked mostly for community use, and while the Sunderland public will get most of the benefit from the facility, the impact on elite and up-and-coming swimmers in the North East will be considerable, according to City of Newcastle swimmer Cook, who will travel to Beijing this summer with realistic medal hopes.

“Simply the word Olympic captures people’s imagination and I think you’ll be measuring the impact it has on our area for swimming in medals, to be honest,” said Cook.

“It’s absolutely fantastic and it will have a huge impact on swimming in our area. Before it felt like we were being asked to go and win medals with our hands tied behind our backs, really.

“Imagine if in football we asked the England team to train and practice on a quarter-sized pitch and then sent them out to a World Cup and expected them to do something. It just wouldn’t happen.

“So this is why it’s so important for us to make the most of this fantastic opportunity.”

Cook remembers only too well how hard it was for him to travel so far to train in facilities that matched his Olympic aspirations – and believes the appearance of the Sunderland Aquatic Centre will halt the drift of young swimmers out of the sport.

“I don’t even want to think about how many swimmers have been put off taking the sport to the next level by the lack of a proper Olympic-sized pool. It was difficult enough for me when I was growing up and you certainly have to sacrifice time with your friends and family when you have to travel that far to pools that are proper sized.

“I had to go abroad or spend four or five hours travelling just to do my training and that is a major hindrance for some people. I managed to make it work but for some people it’s not worth the effort and they end up drifting away from the sport.

“With this facility it should never happen again.”

Clearly, that message is being heard loud and clear throughout the region. The family of 12-year-old future Olympic hopeful Phoebe Lenderyou are upping sticks and moving from their Ponteland home to be closer to the Wearside structure, citing the need to be close to the pool for her intensive training programme which sees her in the pool five evenings a week and four mornings a week.

She has been earmarked as a future champion but it could also have an impact on Cook this summer. He is almost certain to utilise the newly-opened Aquatic centre as part of his Beijing preparations, which he qualified for with great relish a fortnight ago.

“For me it was a very sweet day because people had said I was too old and I was finished. I’d been written off basically, but I worked hard and it will be a very special feeling to go to China and represent Great Britain,” he said.

“As for my medal aspirations, all I can do is work hard and stick to my training plans which will hopefully bring me success.” Swimming facilities will continue to improve in the region with the opening of Northumbria University’s ‘Olympic tanker’ – a two-lane 50 metre pool that will be available to high performance swimmers.

And Sport Newcastle’s Malcolm Dix and has not given up hope of a twin facility being built alongside the Sunderland Aquatic Centre.

“We’re still hoping for one in Newcastle too, which of course we wanted from the start. I don’t think it’s an unrealistic ambition at all,” he said. “Places like Perth in Australia have 35 Olympic-sized pools in one city.”