Divers to plunge into uncharted waters

THE General Manager of Ireland’s newest sports facility, the 62 metre National Aquatic Centre, is convinced it will inspire Irish sportspersons to plunge into uncharted waters.

His ambition is to preside over a facility that will be home to a team of international-class divers.

David Warden confirmed that the successful staging of the Special Olympics swim programme will inevitably lead to heightened interest amongst Ireland’s young sports population.

And while diving is not on the SO programme, he is positive it will capture the imagination of a new generation of sportspersons.

“Traditionally Ireland has not been strong in diving but it is something we want to see happening. Diving is going to be huge in Ireland, we’ve got a city on our doorstep of one and a quarter million people and thousands more potential young divers across the country.”

Mr Warden is a native of Belfast with vast experience of managing the top aquatic centres in England and further afield.

He was manager of the Sheffield facility when the World Student Games were held there in 1991 and manager of the complex in Manchester which hosted the Commonwealth Games.

“My interest in diving started with Pond’s Forge in Sheffield. When I was presented with Ponds Forge at the time it was one of the finest diving pools in the British Isles and there were lots of other diving pools around the country which were standing idle and I was determined that shouldn’t happen.

“So we started a diving development programme. I went to the English Sports Council, talked some money out of them, used it to employ a full-time professional diving coach and started the development programme.

“Then, when I went to Southampton, again there was a fantastic diving pool so we started a development programme there and employed another full-time professional coach. Between those two programmes we are now producing probably 80% of the British squad.”

Mr Warden’s appointment as general manager of the NAC at Abbottstown was effective from its opening date in early March. But he was involved in the project as an advisor and design consultant through every phase of its conception and development over ten years.

So what’s his impression of the finished product ?

“I’ve had acquaintances of mine who are coaches across from England and when they walk in and they look at that pool and they look at the diving platforms they just go ‘wow’,” he said.

The swimming section is, just like every other facet of the spectacular facility, simply state-of-the-art, comparable to any facility in the world and better than most.

The diving pool is a separate entity, whole and complete in itself at one end of the marvellous stadium.

Appearances are deceptive because the scale of the development dwarfs it but, measuring 25 metres by 18 metres, it is one and a half times the size of the average district pool found in Ireland.

At a depth of 5 metres it is also about four times as deep. And the volume of water, when you add in the extra width and the extra depth, is about five times the volume of the conventional local pool.

Little wonder that Mr Warden was totally positive when he said: “Here we believe the demand out there will be enormous.”

The wonderful success of the Aquatic programme at the Special Olympics was inevitably due, in large measure, to the superb facilities.

Mr Warden had words of praise also for the volunteer workforce, the officials of Swim Ireland, and the Special Olympics coaches and personnel who cater for the large army of athletes.

“Given that there’s no great history of managing aquatic events of this scale in this country that everyone who is involved in it is doing extremely well.

“I don’t want that to sound patronising but there is no history of doing it and in the main it’s Irish people who are sports enthusiasts who are running this event and they are doing a cracking job,” he said.