Moveable Pool floor opens at MSAC
Innovative new sport technology has been revealed at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC) with the recent unveiling of a moveable pool floor in the Centre's outdoor 50-metre pool.
Developed at a cost of $4 million, the floor can be raised and lowered to adjust water depth from zero to 2.75 metres, allowing it to cater for a range of uses. The movable floor is composed by two parts, each of 25 metres in length, joined together to form a single surface, and is a floating structure created from stainless steel beams and buoyant polypropylene elements. The floating structure is anchored in different points, to the pool floor through a complex system of mechanical transmissions: stainless steel cables and pulleys. On one side of the pool there are six hydraulic rams that operate the cables, to position and fix the movable floor to the required depth, even sloping if required, so that pool cleaning and maintenance operations are easily facilitated. The moveable floor is the first in the world to be fitted to the total surface area of a 50-metre pool.
Unveiling the floor, Victorian Sport and Recreation Minister James Merlino stated "the moveable floor is a design innovation that puts Victoria at the forefront of world-class sports facilities.
"The hydraulic technology also means this is the first 50-metre pool in the world that can function as both an elite event pool and a community leisure pool."
The Minister then added that "the pool will be versatile enough to offer programs to cater for people of all abilities - from the very young to the very old."
Recently the showpiece setting for the FINA World Championship water polo competitions, MSACâs outdoor 50-metre pool is a Myrtha stainless steel pool, fitted with a Myrtha Moveable Boom that integrates with the new moveable floor.
Project management of the installation of MSAC's movable floor, manufactured by Netherlands-based Vario Pool, was undertaken jointly by Vario Pool and Myrtha Pools Australia; both companies having completed a number of joint projects worldwide.
Image shows the moveable pool floor during construction.
For more information on Myrtha Pools technology, click here to visit the Myrtha Pools listing in the Australasian Leisure Management Supplier Directory.
