Wales National Pool opens at Swansea

Swansea's £10.6m National Pool has opened after benefiting from the largest sports lottery grant ever awarded within Wales.

An £8.6m Sportslot award, as well as a £1m contribution from the University of Swansea and the local authority financed the scheme. Manager of the pool, Jane Draper said: 'This is a state of the art facility, specifically designed with the broad range of users in mind.'

The pool, overlooking Swansea bay, was designed by sports and leisure architects, Stephen Limbrick Associates and is set into the coastline with glazed frontage and sail-like, lightweight sun canopies.

The main 50m, 8-lane, competition pool has a uniform depth of 2m, but a submersible central boom allows it to be split into two separate sections of 25m and 23m respectively. The smaller 23m section then has a movable floor that enables the water depth to range from 2m to zero.

Several governing bodies of sport, including the Welsh Amateur Swimming Association, the Amateur Swimming Federation of Great Britain and the British Triathlon Association intend to base themselves at the Swansea site. Details: +44 (0)1792 513513