Diving athletes left high and dry after Cleveland Olympic pool fails safety test

Redland’s only Olympic-sized pool is off-limits for diving due to safety issues, leaving competitive divers with no facility for school or elite training, despite the city being a Games 2032 venue host.

In 2023, Deloitte Access Economics handed down a report on the Cleveland Aquatic Centre, which investigated the 40-year-old pool’s sustainability.

A ban on diving into a bayside council’s only 50m Olympic-sized pool has sparked backlash with swimmers unable to dive into a pool built for competition.

The dive ban at Cleveland Aquatic Centre has prompted calls to the local Redland City Council for urgent upgrades to resolve safety concerns.

At Wednesday’s Redland City Council meeting, Mount Cotton father and Redlands Swim Club representative Andrew Howes made a plea to the council to lift the ban on diving from the starting blocks, which he said was crippling opportunities for local swimmers including Olympic hopefuls.

Mount Cotton parent Andrew Howes spoke at the Redland council meeting.

The ban, introduced after a directive from Swim Australia and an assessment by pool operator Belgravia Leisure, in consultation with council officials, prevents all pool users, including competitive squads, school groups and learn-to-swim classes, from diving off the blocks into the 50m outdoor pool.

Speaking on behalf of more than 100 swimmers, Mr Howes said the Cleveland pool, the only Olympic-sized swimming facility in the area, had become inadequate, with the ban forcing young athletes to travel outside the region often as early as 4.30am just to practise dive starts.

He asked the council to “act urgently” before the diving ban had long-term consequences for young swimmers’ futures, noting school carnivals were also being affected and warning the club could face closure if the situation isn’t resolved.

“Time is ticking,” he said.

“This impacts the larger community, and we want to see our youth stay in the sport of swimming ... our dream is to have a facility that keeps up with the times.”

The ban came after the nation’s peak swimming body Swim Australia updated its national guidelines and concerns arose that the blocks, sitting about 40cm above the water, and the pool’s moderate depth may no longer met new safety standards.

It also followed a 2023 Deloitte Access Economics report which looked into the future of the Cleveland facility.

Since that report, some works have been carried out to upgrade the toilet block, the pumps and other areas around the pool.

Cleveland councillor Peter Mitchell, who tabled a petition calling for the pool to be fixed, said he would meet club members to discuss next steps, but the precautionary ban will remain in place for now.

Some residents commenting online highlighted the region’s limited pool infrastructure, pointing out that Redland has just one Olympic-sized pool for every 185,000 people, compared to an average of one per 62,000 elsewhere in southeast Queensland.

Suggestions ranged from short-term fixes such as lowering the blocks or deepening the pool to long-term plans to build a much-needed aquatic centre in Capalaba or Redland Bay.

Originally published as Diving athletes left high and dry after Cleveland Olympic pool fails safety test