As the New Clark City sports complex will soon be a premier training ground for national athletes, over 50 members of the University of the Philippines (UP) Varsity Swimming Team recently trained at the new, world-class Aquatics Center.
“This pool is the first of its kind in the Philippines, and I think it will really help the development of [competitive] swimming in the country,” says Hans Chua who’s the captain of the UP men’s swimming team.
“Performance-wise, this kind of facility is an extra motivation, an extra push [to do] better. It simulates the competition type of environment,” asserts Nadine Tee Ten, co-captain of the women’s team.
The UP pool is currently closed due to a long overdue renovation which makes training for the team more difficult as they compete for this season’s University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) swimming championships.
Yssa Pogiongko, captain of the women’s team, shared how hard the team works to represent their school and bring pride to the UP community. UP is the only state university competing among the eight-member collegiate league.
“Swimming is a sport that takes a lot of training and practice to become better so we really train everyday,” Pogiongko said. “As much as we can, we train twice a day. We put so much effort in every training session—whether early in the morning or late at night.”
“Our athletes lack modern training facilities that they deserve that’s why we’re happy to host the UP varsity swimming team since New Clark City is built to be an inclusive city,” BCDA President and CEO Vince Dizon said.
The Aquatics Center in New Clark City features a 10-lane competition pool, eight-lane training pool, and a diving pool with a five-meter maximum depth.
Accredited by the Federation Internationale De Natation (FINA), the Aquatics Center will host swimming, diving, water polo and artistic swimming competitions during this year’s 30th South East Asian Games.