How an indoor aquatic centre at Hunter Park could help swimming in the region grow

CVSA comprises 47 swimming clubs from the Central Coast to the Lower Hunter Valley but currently no facility in either Newcastle or Lake Macquarie can accommodate large-scale carnivals due to a range of deficiencies, including inadequate amenities, seating and parking.

Many pools also shut through the winter months.

The association annually hold their winter short-course championships at Woy Woy's state-of-the-art Peninsula Leisure Centre at a hiring cost of $10,000.

Bigger events, such as the NSW Country Championships held last month, are staged at Homebush.

A proposed redevelopment of the Broadmeadow sport and entertainment precinct - Hunter Park - flagged by the NSW government in 2017 could be the answer.

The Herald revealed in November a leaked "masterplan" for the precinct - which would include a new 11,000-seat entertainment centre, an aquatic centre, hotels and 2700 dwellings - but the Liberal government is yet to confirm any further details.

What that aquatic centre would entail is not known.

"I'd love to see it," Roberts said. "But they've got to do it correctly.

"They can't do it half-hearted. They've got to go in boots and all and they've got to get people who know the sport inside and out.

"They've got to get architects and engineers that can build a complex that's going to last and is going to be for everyone, not only for the swimmers.

"I'd like to see it for the future of our kids because, given what we've got in this area, we're still rated in the top five or six at state overall for swimmers. That's from 10-year-olds right through to seniors."

It was a sentiment echoed by former Olympian and now president of Swimming NSW Chris Fydler.

"Coast and Valley Swimming Association is the fastest growing membership area in NSW for us," Fydler said. "Where a lot of sports question growth in those traditional sports against video games and other high-profile sports, it's growing really strongly in the Hunter and Central Coast regions.

"That's off the back of the great work that Norm and the team are doing. But it's going to mean we need more pools so kids can swim, and particularly high-quality."

City of Newcastle noted its continued investment of more than $3 million to upgrade local pools at Mayfield, Lambton, Stockton, Beresfield and Wallsend at an ordinary meeting in October of last year.

Also discussed was the council's commitment to providing a modern year-round public aquatic facility in Newcastle that would require substantial investment.

"A lot of people don't realise that half our clubs shut down and the top 20 per cent of the kids that swim at country, state and nationals have got to go and join another club for that period of time," Roberts said.

"It's not only the top-level elite that we can keep in the area, but it's the grassroots.

"If you've got learn to swim and the kids want to go on with it to club swimming but six months of the year the pool is closed, it's not conducive. Half our clubs would be summer clubs."

This month, Newcastle lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes called on the NSW government to commit to the Hunter Park redevelopment, adding her voice to regional advocacy groups, Wests Group chief executive Phil Gardner, NBL boss Larry Kestelman and Hunter netballers to take action on the 63-hectare site at Broadmeadow.

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