Indiana University Natatorium is a swimming complex on the

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th st ...

campus in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, United States. It also serves as the home of the IUPUI School of Health & Human Sciences (including physical education, tourism management, pre-physical and pre-occupational therapy) with its offices on the second level and the Polaris Fitness Center on the first level. The Human Performance Lab is housed in the basement of the Natatorium building. The Natatorium has hosted hundreds of

NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships The NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships are annual college championship events in the United States. The meets take place in a 25-yard pool, except for the Division I meets in 2000 and 2004 which were swum in a 25-meter competi ...

NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships The NCAA Women's Division I Swimming and Diving Championships is an annual college championship in the United States. The meet is typically held on the second-to-last weekend (Thursday-Saturday) in March, and consists of individual and relay even ...

Big East Conference The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and M ...

Swimming & Diving Championships,

USA Swimming USA Swimming is the national governing body for competitive swimming in the United States. It is charged with selecting the United States Olympic Swimming team and any other teams that officially represent the United States, as well as the overal ...

USA Diving USA Diving, Inc. is the national governing body of diving in the United States as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee and is a member of United States Aquatic Sports Inc., the United States' member of FINA (the International Swimmin ...

, and USA Synchronized Swimming Championships, local/regional meets, as well 11

Olympic Trials Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

, and

synchronized swimming Synchronized swimming (in British English, synchronised swimming) or artistic swimming is a sport where swimmers perform a synchronized choreographed routine, accompanied by music. The sport is governed internationally by FINA (the ''Fédérati ...

. The Natatorium has the largest seating capacity of any indoor pool in the United States; it can hold up to 4,700 spectators.

Competition pool

The Natatorium's main competition pool is 50-meters with eight racing lanes. Two moveable bulkheads allow for long or short course events as well as hosting

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

and synchronized swimming. The

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of the Natatorium is 4,700, making it the largest indoor pool in the United States. There is also room for additional seating of 1,500 on deck. The depth of the pool is at the ends and at the center of pool. Water temperature is kept at . The main pool contains six underwater windows for

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

and coaching analysis. There are approximately of water in the main pool. More than 100 American records and 15 world records have been set in the pool.

Diving well

The diving well of the Natatorium has hosted many local and national diving events, including the 2008 Olympic trials. The diving well has a depth of over and holds more than of water. It has four 1-meter and four 3-meter boards and five diving platforms of 1, 3, 5, 7.5, and 10 meters in height. The pool is kept at approximately . There are also two underwater windows for television coverage and coaching analysis.

History

The Natatorium was completed in 1982. Counsilman-Hunsaker served as the design consultant for the project. The architects were Browning, Day, Pollack & Mullins, Inc. and Edward Larabee Barnes, Architects. The facility was host to the USA Olympic Diving Trials in 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2008, 2016, and 2020. It hosted the USA Olympic Swimming Trials in 1984, 1992, 1996, and 2000. In addition, the Natatorium building houses the IUPUI Recreation Program in the basement of the facility, including the Polaris weight room which was built in 1996. Popularly known as IUPUI, this facility has been host to numerous other swim events including the 1982 National Sports Festival, the

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas c ...

, 2001

World Police and Fire Games The World Police and Fire Games (WPFG) is a biennial athletic event, open to active and retired law enforcement and fire service personnel throughout the world. The WPFG Federation is an arm of the California Police Athletic Federation (CPAF), ...

, NCAA Championships,

National Championships, and the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

Championships. Additionally, in July 2009, IUPUI hosted one of USA Swimming's most elite competitions, the 2009 ConocoPhillips National Championships. As part of the agreement for being selected to host the 2016

Olympic Trials, the Natatorium underwent roughly $18 million in renovation and repairs before 2016. The project included a new roof and improved climate control. According to local television station

WTHR WTHR (channel 13) is a television station in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside low-power, Class A MeTV affiliate WALV-CD (channel 46). Both stations share studios on North Meridian S ...

, "the venue cost $21 million to build in 1982, and would cost nearly $75 million to replace."

Notable events

Modern Pentathlon The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the anci ...

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

Synchronized Swimming Synchronized swimming (in British English, synchronised swimming) or artistic swimming is a sport where swimmers perform a synchronized choreographed routine, accompanied by music. The sport is governed internationally by FINA (the ''Fédérati ...

, and

Water Polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

competitions (1987) * Arena (now TYR) Pro Swim Series (2017 and 2018) *

Championships (2009 and 2013) *

Duel in the Pool The Duel in the Pool is a swimming event that took place bi-annually from 2003 to 2015. In 2022, the event was reintroduced with an edition between the United States and Australia and co-organized by Swimming Australia and USA Swimming. From 2003 to ...

(

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

and 2015) *

FINA Diving World Cup The FINA Diving World Cup is an international biennial diving competition that was first contested in The Woodlands, Texas in 1979. The 2012 edition served as Diving's test event for the 2012 Olympics, as well as the final qualifying event for ...

(1989) *

FINA Swimming World Cup The FINA Swimming World Cup is an international series of short course () swimming meets organized by FINA, the International Federation for swimming. Launched in 1988, the FINA Swimming World Cup gathers world-class swimmers in a series of two-da ...

( 1988–1989) *

FINA Synchronised Swimming World Cup The FINA Synchronised Swimming World Cup is an international, synchronized swimming event organized by FINA and currently held every 4 years. It is a top-level international 'synchro' competition. It was first held in 1979, and 2010 saw its twelfth ...

(

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

) *

FINA World Junior Swimming Championships The FINA World Junior Swimming Championships (or "Junior Worlds") is a swimming championship event organized by FINA for girls aged 14–17 and boys aged 15–18 on 31 December of the year of the competition. It is held biennially, and has been hel ...

(

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

) *

FINA World Junior Synchronised Swimming Championships The FINA World Junior Synchronised Swimming Championships is an international, synchronized swimming event organized by FINA held every 2 years.2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

) *

FINA World Masters Championships The FINA World Masters Championships (or "Masters Worlds") is an international Aquatics championships for adults (per FINA rules, Masters are 25 years old and older). The championships is held biennially, with competition in all five of FINA's dis ...

(1992) *

NCAA Men's Division I Swimming and Diving Championships The NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships are annual college championship events in the United States. The meets take place in a 25-yard pool, except for the Division I meets in 2000 and 2004 which were swum in a 25-meter competi ...

(

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, and

) *

NCAA Women's Division I Swimming and Diving Championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, and

) * U.S. Open Swimming Championships (1988, 1990, 1997, and 2012) * U.S. Olympic Team Trials (1984,

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, and

) *

United States Spring Swimming Championships The United States Spring Swimming Championships are held annually in the spring since 1962. The event is governed by USA Swimming. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was governed by USA Swimming's predecessor, the Amateur Athletic Union, as the AAU Indoor ...

(1983, 1984, 1992, 2003, and 2005) *

United States Swimming National Championships The United States Swimming National Championships (a.k.a. "Nationals") are held annually, in summer. The event is organized by USA Swimming, and is held in a long course (50m) pool. In the past, and as recently as 2007, there were 2 meets annually: ...

(1982, 1994, 2007, 2009, 2013, and

)

World records broken in the natatorium

Long course meters

Men

50 m Freestyle 22.18 Peter Williams (South Africa); April 10, 1988 100 m Backstroke 53.17

Aaron Peirsol Aaron Wells Peirsol (born July 23, 1983) is an American former competition swimmer and backstroke specialist who is a former world champion and world record-holder. He is a three-time Olympian and seven-time Olympic medalist (five gold, two si ...

(USA); April 2, 2005 51.94 Aaron Peirsol (USA); July 8, 2009 200 m Backstroke 1:58.86

Rick Carey Richard John Carey (born March 13, 1963) is an American former competition swimmer, three-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in three events. Carey specialized in the backstroke. At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, ...

(USA); June 27, 1984 1:53.08 Aaron Peirsol (USA); July 11, 2009 100 m Breaststroke 1:02.53

Steve Lundquist Stephen K. Lundquist (born February 20, 1961) is an American former competition swimmer who is an Olympic gold medalist and former world record-holder. At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, he won gold medals in the 100-meter breaststroke ...

(USA); August 21, 1982 1:02.13 John Moffet (USA); June 25, 1984 100 m Butterfly 53.38

Pablo Morales Pedro Pablo Morales Jr. (born December 5, 1964) is an American former competitive swimmer. He set world records in the 100-meter butterfly in 1984 and 1986. He was the 100-meter butterfly gold medalist at the 1992 Olympic Games, as well as winn ...

(USA); June 26, 1984 50.22

Michael Phelps Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold me ...

(USA); July 9, 2009 400 m Individual Medley 4:10.73 Michael Phelps (USA); April 6, 2003

Women

100 m Freestyle 54.48

Jenny Thompson Jennifer Beth Thompson (born February 26, 1973) is an American former competition swimmer and anesthesiologist. She is one of the most decorated Olympians in history: twelve medals, including eight gold medals, in the 1992, 1996, 2000, and 200 ...

(USA); March 1, 1992 1500 m Freestyle 15:20.48

Katie Ledecky Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky (born March 17, 1997) is an American competitive swimmer. She has won seven Olympic gold medals and 19 world championship gold medals, the most in history for a female swimmer. Ledecky's six individual gold medals at ...

(USA); May 16, 2018 200 m Breaststroke 2:25.92 Anita Nall (USA); March 2, 1992 2:25.35 Anita Nall (USA); March 2, 1992

Short course meters

Men

Women

50 m Backstroke 27.25

Haley Cope Haley Cope (born April 11, 1979), also known by her married name Haley Clark, is an American former competition swimmer, Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder. She won a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics, eight world champions ...

(USA); March 17, 2000 200 m Medley Relay 1:49.23

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

(Haley Cope, Staciana Stitts, Waen Minpraphal, Joscelin Yeo); March 17, 2000 400 m Medley Relay 1:49.23

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

(Courtney Shealy, Kristy Kowal, Keegan Walkley, Maritza Correia); March 16, 2000

References

External links

Official website
{{IUPUI College swimming venues in the United States Sports venues in Indianapolis IUPUI Jaguars Sports venues completed in 1982 1982 establishments in Indiana Swimming venues in Indiana