Canberra Underdogs member Mallory Dobner regularly trains at Civic’s dive pool. Photo: James Coleman.
It’s not certain when it’s going to happen, but the days are definitely numbered for Canberra’s underwater rugby club – the Canberra Underdogs.
Come 2027 and 2028, the ACT Government will demolish Civic Pool to make way for a new entertainment and convention centre, with plans to build a new Canberra Aquatic Centre in the nearby Commonwealth Park.
Tender documents mention a new 50-metre pool, outdoor splash areas for sport and recreation, and change facilities, but nothing about a 10-metre-tall diving tower or a 4.87-metre-deep diving pool – both features of Civic Pool that make it the only public diving facility in Canberra.
And that’s a problem for Mallory Dobner and the other 50-or-so members of the Canberra Underdogs.
Civic Pool will be demolished sometime in 2027 or 2028. Photo: James Coleman.
“Without this dive facility, we basically die as a sport,” Dobner says.
“We do sometimes, as a team, go up to Sydney and play in their pools, but they’re looking like they’re going to lose their dive pool as well, and we just can’t train in any other pool in Canberra, so we just lose this club and this community.”
The prospect is hanging especially heavy over the club this Australia Day long weekend, when Canberra hosts the first women’s-only underwater rugby tournament in Australia – the Valkyrie Cup – followed by a national team training camp, both at Civic Pool.
Who’s using Canberra’s dive pool?
Underwater rugby needs a deep pool – between 3.5 and 5 metres – to exist. Apart from a training pool at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), Civic is home to the only one in Canberra.
“Underwater rugby is a three-dimensional sport,” Dobner says.
“You can’t do it in a 2-metre pool – it’s just too squishy – and our international regulating body does mandate 3.5 to 5 metres.”
The government has argued that a new diving facility isn’t feasible for the new pool due to the cost.
“As early work on the aquatic centre has progressed, it has become increasingly clear that a dedicated indoor Olympic standard dive pool is unlikely to be feasible for the proposed site, nor could it be built within the project budget without sacrificing other important elements of the project,” a spokesperson said this week.
“Our goal is to provide as much as we possibly can within the available project budget.”
How Civic Pool used to look on a typical summer’s day. Photo: James Coleman.
But Dobner is joined by other dive pool users who argue there’s plenty of demand.
“Over summer, while this pool is open, it’s always packed,” she says.
“When we start training on a Monday and Wednesday, there’s always 20 to 30 kids using the dive pods, jumping in and playing around, and adults swimming laps.”
She said clubs operate back-to-back most nights.
“On Monday night, we have to get out super quick because water polo is in the pool straight after us – they’re here multiple nights a week. The Nipper clubs are also here regularly doing their deep water training.”
The loss would also affect competitive diving.
“The diving club is in the same position as us. They have to go out to Wagga, so without this pool, they also don’t exist as a club anymore,” Dobner says.
“[It’s also] just a really big community pillar. I remember coming here after uni, after high school, so I think it’s a really important feature of our community and a really well-utilised feature of Canberra’s aquatic infrastructure.”
Canberra swimmers ‘misled’ on new pool plans
Canberra’s swimming community has united in recent months in calling for the ACT Government to develop an ‘Aquatic Pool and Urban Swimming Strategy’.
They argue they were misled about the fate of the dive pool during consultations on the new Canberra Aquatic Centre.
Dr Louise Watson, vice president of Friends of Civic Pool, says groups entered the process expecting a like-for-like replacement.
“We do not think our voices were heard. We entered the consultation in good faith that the ACT Government would deliver a ‘like-for-like replacement’ and that the replacement facility would be equal to, if not better than, the current facility,” she said.
“Throughout the 12-week consultation period, we were assured repeatedly that ‘nothing was off the table’ when we sought assurance that a diving facility was included in the project scope.”
She said groups were shocked by what followed.
Underwater rugby is far from the only use for a dive pool, advocates say. Photo: James Coleman.
“We were dismayed to discover in January that there was no intention of replacing the Civic dive pool with an equivalent facility in Commonwealth Park, and that Canberra faces a future without any diving facility once the Civic Pool site is razed for a Convention Centre.”
Nicola Maher, from Canberra Underwater Rugby, said the timing was especially hard to accept.
“This weekend, we will be hosting 50 women at Australia’s first women’s only underwater rugby tournament combined with a national team training camp, yet by this time next year, we may no longer be able to have a team,” she says.
“Sadly, we will not be the only sport that will no longer exist in Canberra.”
Replacement dive pool still a maybe – but not for Civic
This week, ACT Minister for Sports and Recreation Yvette Berry reiterated there was no plan for a new dive pool in the new Canberra Aquatic Centre – but did hint one could be built elsewhere.
“There’s no dive pool at the Civic facility, that is true, and I think Chief Minister Andrew Barr has already said that will be the case,” she told ABC radio.
“The ACT Government has done work and feasibility around a dive pool in the past, and so that is still being considered.”
In a later statement, the government added: “We recognise that a dedicated competition diving facility will need to be considered at another location in the future.”
For now, Dobner is staying upbeat – calling for as many locals as possible to turn out this weekend for the first Australian women’s only underwater rugby tournament.
“We will be competing on both Saturday and Sunday. Come down to Civic Pool, have a look – come see some women play some incredible rugby.”
To learn more about the Canberra Underdogs, visit Facebook. Curious about Underwater Rugby – aka, the greatest sport you’ve never played? Visit Underwater Rugby Australia.
