Queen Elizabeth II Recreation Complex
Christchurch, New Zealand

The renovations and additions to the Queen Elizabeth II Park built for the 1974 Commonwealth Games has breathed new life into an aging facility. Touted as Australasia's largest (and newest) indoor leisure pool, this facility contains four separate pool tanks to meet a variety of swimmers needs. The existing dive tank has been enhanced with the addition of a new dive tower, the new 10 lane 50m competition pool built to international competition standards is complete with electronic starting blocks and movable bulkhead, a shallow warm water teach pool for those just beginning, and the jewel in the crown of this facility is the conversion of the existing 50m pool into a free form leisure pool including a wave machine, lazy river, play structure, and various water moving devices.

One major concern expressed by the Christchurch City Council was maintaining operations of the existing facilities during the construction of the additions. It is a testament to the knowledge and skill of the design team that the construction of this major project was accomplished with little or no shut down time.

With these renovations and additions, along with the upgrading of the mechanical systems and the provision of ozone water treatment systems, this facility has once again become a world-class competition venue and a community destination.

Entering the newly completed leisure pool hall is like stepping into a fantasy world, with sunken ships rising from the bottom of the children's play lagoon, Poseidon looming over the crystal clear waters of the wave pool, and murals of Atlantis adorning every wall. As one young swimmer was heard to exclaim on opening day, "It's so amazing, I can't believe how much better it is than the old pool… it's just fantastic!"