ACT Aquatic Alliance managing director Matthew Turnbull and Canberra Underdogs president Ali Strous outside the Canberra Olympic Pool, Civic. Photo: James Coleman.
Underwater rugby might just be the quietest sport in the world.
If you’ve never heard of it (because it’s so quiet), in underwater rugby there’s a goal at either end of the field, and each team aims to get the ball to the other end (with a bit of body contact thrown in for good measure).
Except in this case, the field is a 50-metre swimming pool, and all the players are submerged under at least a couple of metres of water.
Ali Strous, president of the Canberra Underdogs team, describes it as the “only truly 3D sport in the world”.
“There’s a metal basket attached to the bottom of the pool at each end, and the aim of the game is to put a water-filled ball into that goal,” she says.
Underwater rugby in action. Photo: Canberra Underdogs, Facebook.
“It’s very much about teamwork and working with everybody – when they breathe, you cover their position and vice versa. And it’s a full contact sport, but the water is a bit of a buffer, so it’s not as rough as ‘land rugby’.”
It’s a “niche sport”, but there are more than 50 members in the club who meet to train twice a week.
But there’s a problem. There’s only one place they can go, and between April and October each year, it’s off-limits.
The Canberra Olympic Pool in Civic is the only facility in the ACT to include a five-metre-deep dive pool, and it’s all set to be demolished in coming years to make way for a new Canberra Convention and Entertainment Centre on the site.
Last weekend, ACT Labor promised to replace the Civic pool with a new ‘Canberra Aquatic Centre’ on the other side of Parkes Way in Commonwealth Park after a thumbs-up from the Federal government.
This will include a 50-metre pool, a program pool for swimming lessons and a splash park.
But there’s a conspicuous absence – no dive pool.
Technically, there is a 3.7-metre deep performance pool at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Bruce, but during COVID, the rules changed to only allow “high-performance international athletes” to use it.
“So the pool sits empty a lot of the time, and we haven’t been able to understand that change in policy,” Ali says.
“At the moment, we’re at the AIS in their 2.4-metre pool, but it’s very shallow, and you can only do a match of three or four players against each other. We can’t train properly.”
Canberra Underdogs president Ali Strous outside the Canberra Olympic Pool in Civic. Photo: James Coleman.
During a press conference this week, Chief Minister Andrew Barr acknowledged the dive-pool problem and laid out two options.
“We set aside space at the Stromlo facility that we opened about four years ago, so diving could go there, or it could be part of the new city facility,” he said.
“We will have that engagement.”
He added that a pool in Commonwealth Park would be a “really good outcome for the park” and hopes to have detailed designs out within two years and construction started in 2028.
“It is excellent to hear that the ACT Government acknowledges the importance of maintaining at least one diving pool in Canberra,” Ali says.
“We look forward to the consultation process and the opportunity to meaningfully engage with the ACT Government on a suitable location.”
The Canberra Underdogs team train at the Canberra Olympic Pool during the warmer months. Photo: Canberra Underdogs, Facebook.
The ACT Aquatic Alliance, which represents water sports like swimming, water polo, diving and triathlon (as well as underwater rugby), agrees new facilities are well overdue, but Commonwealth Park isn’t the place for them.
“We are concerned that a pool constructed in Commonwealth Park may face challenges with accessibility and space, ultimately turning into just another lap pool primarily used by public servants for lunchtime swims,” managing director Matthew Turnbull says.
The Alliance believes the government should first construct a multi-use diving pool as part of the second phase of development at the Stromlo Leisure Centre.
With that done, Matthew says a new “aquatic precinct” should be built at Yarramundi Reach on the patch of empty land between the Burrunju Art Gallery and the National Zoo and Aquarium (between Lady Denman Drive and Lake Burley Griffin).
“This site is a five-minute drive from the city and connected to the Glenloch Interchange and Tuggeranong Parkway, which provides great access for the majority of Canberrans.”
He adds the ample space on offer would allow for a 50-metre competition-spec pool – enough to “attract major aquatic events to Canberra and stimulate the local economy – while its proximity to the lake and the area’s cycle paths would also connect it with other local sports.
More of these, please, Matthew Turnbull says. Photo: James Coleman.
“We would rather wait 10 years for a pool facility to be built properly than rush it in five years and end up with another lemon we can’t use,” Matt says.
Both Matt and Ali argue Canberra needs to “build it so they will come”.
“We have very few facilities that can host even medium to large scale events, so if you build a facility properly, we will have events from Swimming Australia, Water Polo Australia, Underwater Rugby Australia come and actually host their events here in Canberra,” Matt says.
In answer to a question about whether the national underwater rugby body would hold events in Canberra, Ali had two words: “Yes, absolutely!”
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