adminNgqwele Dube Sports Correspondent
MATABELELAND Swimming Board chairperson Robyn Smith has bemoaned the unavailability of City Pool as Bulawayo prepares to host the National Championships set for next month. The province held its final qualifiers a fortnight ago at Hillside Teachers’ College where the final team to represent the region was selected. Smith said when she checked on the pool last Friday it was in a worrying state considering less than two weeks are left before the national competition which will run from 18 to 22 February.
She painted a sad picture of the state of the pool saying the pace of the ongoing renovations did not inspire confidence ahead of the prestigious event.Smith even pointed to a possibility of the championships being moved to Harare if the pool is not fixed by the end of next week, which would be a sad development for the city.
“We are disheartened by the rate at which the repairs are being made at the pool because it does not give us hope that it will be ready for the championships. However, there is a possibility it will be fixed in time. We just have to keep our fingers crossed,’’ said Smith.
A visit to the pool on Friday by Sunday News revealed there were Bulawayo Council workers on site trying to get the pool back to working condition although one of the workers cast doubt on being able to get the pool functioning by 18 February.
The Bulawayo City Pool has been undergoing repairs after botched renovations were made for the African Union Sports Council Region 5 under-20 Youth Games in 2014. While the regional games were successfully held at the venue it later emerged the pool was leaking following the upgrading exercise.
derick.khumalo