Wales National Pool facts for kids
The Wales National Pool (which is Pwll Cenedlaethol Cymru in Welsh) is a large 50-metre swimming pool. You can find it in the Sketty area of Swansea, Wales.
This main pool is 50 metres long and 21 metres wide. Because of its width, it is not officially an Olympic-sized pool. Olympic pools need to be 25 metres wide.
The Story of the Wales National Pool
This amazing pool cost £11 million to build. It first opened its doors in 2003. Before this pool, Wales had another national pool in Cardiff called the Wales Empire Pool. That pool was taken down in 1998 to make way for the Millennium Stadium.
The Wales National Pool in Swansea was built to take its place for a little while. Later, a new, even bigger pool called the Cardiff International Pool was built in Cardiff.
What is the Pool Used For?
This facility is super important for Welsh sports. It has the main 50-metre pool and also a smaller training pool. The training pool is 25 metres long and 9.5 metres wide. There are also 1,200 seats for people to watch swimming events!
The pool is a key place where Wales' best water sports athletes train. These athletes compete in sports like swimming and diving. It is also home to the main office of Swim Wales. This group used to be called the Wales Amateur Swimming Association.
Some swimmers even used this pool to get ready for the London 2012 Olympics. The money to build this facility came from a few different places. Sport Wales, Swansea Council, and Swansea University all helped fund it. The pool was built right on the land where the university's sports centre used to be.
