- Construction of the $39-million facility began in August, 2014.
- It is designed by Acton Ostry Architects Inc. and MacLennan Jaunklans Miller Architects;
- The building covers about 80,000 square-feet and is targeting LEED Gold certification
- The 50-metre, 25-metre, leisure pool and hot tub contain a combined 4.9 million litres of water.
- There are accessibility ramps to the 25-metre and leisure pools and a permanent power lift into the 34-person hot tub.
- There is also a steam room and sauna.
- It features 16,040 square-feet of windows and skylights and a 460-person mezzanine for spectators.
- An underground 1.3-million litre holding tank will harvest rainwater from the roof to replenish evaporated pool water as required. It’s anticipated the pool will use 2.7-million litres of rainwater annually.
- The disinfection system uses both chlorine and UV.
- The facility will apply research by UBC Okanagan scientists to remove chloramines from the atmosphere using HVAC intake
- The pools and the pool deck are covered with approximately 2.52 million tiles.
- The facility has a total of 34 showers, with the universal change room providing 23 dedicated changing stalls / rooms;
- Water in the lazy river moves at about 1.5 metres per second, but speed is adjustable.
- With multiple pools, staff have the ability to adjust temperatures to accommodate a diversity of activities.
- Facility capacity is 966 bathers.
- The deepest pool is the 25-metre with a maximum depth of 4.5 metres.
- There are two diving boards – a one and three-metre.
- There is a rope swing in the 25-metre pool.
- Prices of admission vary depending on time and home neighbourhood (residents of UBC pay slightly less).
- Starting in March, the hours of operation are Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-10 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Facility access is free for currently registered UBC Students with their UBC Student Card. Each student must scan their card each visit. There is a $5.00 charge for UBC Students who do not pay Athletics & Recreation fees or don’t have their card at time of visit.
History of UBC Aquatics:
- Empire pool constructed 1954 for the British Empire/Commonwealth Games (Closed 2014)
- Current facility constructed 1978 (Closing 2017)
(more history: http://sportfacilities.ubc.ca/ubc-aquatic-centre/aquatic-centre-history/) - 8 UBC swimmers and coaches competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics
- UBC men’s swimming won 10 consecutive National Championships between 1998 and 2007
- UBC women’s swimming won 11consecutive National Championships between 1998 and 2008