New kids’ pool makes a splash at aquatic centre

Published on 12 January 2021

Kids are making a splash in the new-look leisure pool at the Doone Kennedy Hobart Aquatic Centre.

The children’s pool has opened this week, following a major refurbishment that started during last year’s COVID-19-enforced closure.

Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds said the refurbished pool – which features slides, a tipping bucket, water jets and soft-fall flooring – was set to be a popular attraction for children and their parents.

“The new pool has already had a rousing response from our first young visitors, who absolutely loved it,” Cr Reynolds said.

“The new slide and bucket play space is an exciting area for the bigger kids, but there’s also a zero-depth splash-pad with water features, which is suitable for babies and toddlers,” Cr Reynolds said. 

Safety has been further boosted by the installation of new slip-resistant tiles around the pool and the addition of a dividing wall between the leisure pool and the refurbished 25 metre program pool, which opened in November.

With capacity restrictions still in place, just 500 people can use the pool areas at a time. 

“With that in mind, we ask that anyone vising the centre is patient and understanding of the limitations and that there may be times when you can’t enter the centre when you want to.”

Parks and Recreation Committee Chair Jeff Briscoe said improvements had been made across the facility in the past 12 months.

“The bright side to the COVID shutdown was the opportunity to get in and do some work that needed doing but would have been quite disruptive to users if the centre had been open,” Ald Briscoe said.

“The entry foyer and gym were painted and had the flooring replaced, major maintenance was able to be carried out on the water filter and there was a full deep clean and refresh of the centre and its equipment.”

Other upgrades include a new scoreboard, new flooring and grease trap for the café, and a new data server room.

For information on the centre, including opening hours, pool availability and class timetables, visit hobartaquaticcentre.com.au