KEY POINTS:
Auckland's Diocesan School for Girls has opened its $12 million aquatic centre featuring a swimming pool with a moveable floor.
The pool - one of only four in the country with such a floor - was designed for a variety of sports including water polo, flippa ball, underwater hockey and beginner swimming.
The floor can be lowered to a maximum depth of two metres, acts as a thermal cover when the pool is not being used, and can make access easier for disabled people.
As well as the new 25m x 20m moveable floor pool, the centre has a learner pool with separate changing facilities, a new physical education classroom, a purpose-built fitness centre and a tiered 380-seat spectator gallery overlooking the main pool.
Diocesan's director of business and planning, Merle Boniface, said the school had a strong history of sporting excellence, including water polo, and the aquatic centre aimed to build on that.
The centre would benefit the wider community of secondary schools in Auckland and other parts of the country as well as being an educational and sporting asset to Diocesan, she said.
It will be available as a venue for secondary school competitions at local, regional and national level.
The centre was designed by McIldowie Partners in partnership with Upton Architects and was completed within 12 months.
It was opened by Governor-General Anand Satyanand on Friday.
