13 hours ago
WCH Arena ready to rock and roll as times tumble at age-group meet
SINGAPORE – The brand new World Aquatics Championships (WCH) Arena is certainly living up to its 'fast' tag with more than 180 personal bests set during the June 25-27 swimming competition of the South-east Asia Age Group Aquatics Championships.
The June 20-22 artistic swimming competition and the swim meet were the first events to be held at the temporary arena built in a carpark at the SportsHub and served as test events for the July 11-Aug 3 world championships in Singapore.
The water polo (June 19-22) and diving (June 27-29) events of the South-East Asia meet were held at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.
Many of the participants were full of praise for the 4,800-seater new arena, which features Olympic-sized competition and training pools and the same red OSB11 starting blocks used at Paris 2024.
Measuring 50m by 26m with a depth of three metres, the pools are notably wider and deeper than the Paris Olympics' temporary pool at the La Defense Arena, which was also built by Italian contractor Myrtha Pools but was one metre narrower and 2.15m deep.
At the Paris Games, there were four world records and 17 Olympic marks and the times are tipped to tumble in Singapore as swimmers tend to prefer a deeper pool because the increased depth reduces water turbulence, and calmer waters generally result in faster times.
Singaporean swimmer Russel Pang, 15, gave the facilities the thumbs up.
He said: 'The starting blocks are really good because they are sturdy and sanded down. Also, the distance between the training pool and competition pool is very near and the whole place is air-conditioned, which is really nice.'
Fellow swimmer Reagen Cheng, 17, added: 'It's one of the top three pools I have swum in. Excellent. The arena seats quite a lot of people, the sound system and the lighting effects are good, and the atmosphere is electric.'
The seats at the WCH Arena are positioned at a 32-degree angle to give spectators a better viewing experience rather than the standard 17-degree angle that is typically adopted for seats at other events, such as the Singapore Grand Prix and National Day Parade.
A swimmer's father who wanted to be known only as Richard, said: 'The WCH Arena is not small, but it feels compact and this adds to the excitement when everyone's cheers echo around. From the stands, I have a very clear view of the competition in the pool, and can easily get to know the results from the big screens on the wall.'
National artistic swimming performance director Anastasia Goutseva also liked how the new arena has a light atmosphere that puts participants in a good mood from the get-go.
She said: 'The indoor pool is up to the world trends. Now we have acrobatic routines, so we need the depth.
'On our first official training (on June 19), we tested the underwater speaker and the speakers outside. We had the chance to chat with the DJ to adjust the sound, and (on the first day of competition) everything sounded good.'
There were inevitably some teething issues as Goutseva noted during their first training session that the water needed to be warmer, and the issue was resolved the following day.
Russel felt that it can be 'draining' to climb the stairs repeatedly to access the changing rooms and the pools which are on different floors, compared to some other venues where these are on the same level.
Reagen also noted navigation issues as it was 'quite confusing when we first entered the WCH Arena, because there are two blocks and a lot of small corridors'.
Mark Chay, co-chairperson of the WCH Singapore 2025 organising committee, assured that improvements will continue to be made ahead of the prestigious event, such as more signs to provide clear directions for visitors.
He said: 'This is a new facility and it's not the OCBC Aquatic Centre that is the home of Singapore aquatics that we are used to. We accept all the feedback and will strive to do better as part of the development process.
'But overall, we are very happy and proud to deliver the SEA Age Group Aquatics Championships, and it's very apt to have this event for the region's rising stars as the first test event for the WCH Arena ahead of the World Aquatics Championships.
'Some of our South-east Asian counterparts told me they have nothing like this at home, and this is an eye-opener for their swimmers to experience what competing in a world-class facility is like.
'You can see the number of personal bests set at this meet and I look forward to some great performances when the elite swimmers come.'
Elsewhere, Singapore Aquatics president Kenneth Goh was unanimously elected as the new president of the South-east Asia Aquatics Federation at its congress in Singapore on June 26, taking over from compatriot Jeffrey Leow.
He said: 'We will build on the legacy of the previous Exco. I hope to reimagine junior inter-club meets by introducing unconventional formats to inject fun into racing, strengthen friendships among athletes, and foster deeper cross-cultural understanding.
'More importantly, let's reaffirm our commitment to grow together as one South-east Asia Aquatics community through trust, collaboration, and mutual support.'
David Lee is senior sports correspondent at The Straits Times focusing on aquatics, badminton, basketball, cue sports, football and table tennis.
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