By Robert A. Emmanuel
Officials from the Ministry of Education and Sport, members of the Swimming Federation, and other political leaders were present yesterday to witness the ground-breaking ceremony of a new aquatic centre.
Governor General Sir Rodney Williams, Prime Minister Gaston Browne, St George MP Dean Jonas, Minister of Sports Daryll Matthew, and President of the Antigua and Barbuda Swimming Federation (ABSF) Dr Derek Matthew attended the event near the Sir Novelle Richards Academy.
The ABSF has been in consultation with the government over the erection of an aquatic centre for several years.
The ABSF President spoke about the challenging negotiations with the government.
“Members of the executive engaged in deep and arduous discussions with the Minister of Sports Daryll Mathew which, at times, bordered on contentious but were always meaningful.
“Location: though this fact is heavily overlooked by many, this was a major point of contention with the [Sports Minister] and I am happy to say that our cries did not fall on deaf ears.
“As indicated to the minister, we had an obligation and responsibility to accommodate our competitive athletes who start training in the wee hours of the morning and have to train seven to nine times a week to remain competitive,” Derek Matthew stated.
Minister Matthew also spoke about how the negotiations process was constrained due to the Covid pandemic.
“There may be persons who are tempted to say that this is an election project but…we have been having discussions on this aquatic centre since 2018; of course, we were constrained by the realities of Covid, but this did not stop the intention, the vision or the planning,” the Sports Minister articulated.
The federation once utilised the pool at the Antigua Athletic Club in Coolidge for local meets, and had been promised over 13 years ago that the government would construct an Olympic-size pool to host meets and harness the country’s promising talents.
However, following a decision by the government to jointly purchase the Sticky Wicket Cricket Grounds in Coolidge with Cricket West Indies, the Swimming Federation was left without a pool to train in.
The ceremony marks a new phase in the development of a facility solely dedicated to training swimmers in Antigua and Barbuda.
Meanwhile, during Minister Matthew’s speech, he announced the government’s ambition to build a “modern multi-sports indoor facility”, though when Observer reporters sought further clarity on the announcement after the ceremony, he was scant on details.
Prime Minister Browne, who also spoke at the ceremony, said that construction will begin “within a week or two” and talked about an ambitious plan for further development.
“What you have seen is the first phase, [and] the second phase will include the construction of one other pool facility which will be a recreational facility with slides and other amenities,” the Prime Minister explained.
The aquatic centre is tipped to feature a 25-meter 10-lane competition pool with a warmup pool, a gym, two spectator stands with a 600-person capacity, and facilities for both male and female competitors.
