The James E. Martin Aquatics Center is a swimming complex on the

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

campus in

Auburn, Alabama Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama, with a 2020 population of 76,143. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. The Auburn-Opelika, AL MSA with a population o ...

. It is the home pool of the

and Auburn High School swimming and diving programs. The Martin Aquatics Center has hosted the

NCAA 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 ...

Men's (1998) and

Women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

(2003) Swimming and Diving Championships, as well as the US Open in 1995, 2000, and 2005. In 2002, ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' rated the Martin Aquatics Center indoor pool the third-fastest pool in the United States.James E. Martin Aquatics Center
, retrieved March 29, 2008.

Facility

The 77,629 ft² James E. Martin Aquatics Center consists of three pools: an indoor training pool (built in 1969), an outdoor training pool (2007), a competition pool with diving well (1993). The Center is named for James E. Martin, President of Auburn University from 1984 through 1992, who spearheaded the facility's construction.

Competition pool

The Martin Aquatics Center competition pool was constructed in 1993 as part of a $10.5 million expansion to the previous swimming facility. The pool is ×, with a general depth of - extending to in the diving well. The pool has two moveable bulkheads allowing for variable distance competitions and simultaneous diving. The pool contains a gutter system which minimizes wave reflection along the sides of the pool, as well as a water pass-through system in the bulkheads which reduces wave reflection on turns. The diving area contains platforms of the following heights: , , , and , and

springboard A springboard or diving board is used for diving and is a board that is itself a spring, i.e. a linear flex-spring, of the cantilever type. Springboards are commonly fixed by a hinge at one end (so they can be flipped up when not in use), and ...

s of the following heights: two and two . The facility contains seating for 1000 spectators and 800 competitors.

Training pools

The facility contains an indoor training pool, constructed in 1969, which previously served as the competition pool, and an outdoor pool, completed in 2007 at a cost of approximately $2 million. The outdoor training pool is 50×25 m with 10 lanes.

History

The oldest part of the Martin Aquatic Center was a 1969 pool that is currently used as the indoor training pool. In the early 1990s construction began on a $10.5 million expansion of that facility to include the current competition area. The facility was opened in 1993 and dedicated on April 30, 1994 as the James E. Martin Aquatics Center. In its first year, the facility hosted the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

championships, followed by the US Open in 1995. In 1996, the facility hosted the

Olympic 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 b ...

swimming and diving teams of China, Japan,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, Israel and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and the United States

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 ...

team training for the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

in nearby

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. In 1998, the

NCAA 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 ...

were held at the Aquatic Center, and in 2000 the US Open returned. Martin hosted both the SEC championships and the

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

in 2003, and the US Open in 2005. In 2007, a new outdoor training pool was opened adjacent to the facility.James E. Martin Aquatics Center
, retrieved March 29, 2008

retrieved March 29, 2008.

References

External links

James E. Martin Aquatics Center
{{coord, 32, 35, 59, N, 85, 29, 36, W, type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Auburn, Alabama Auburn High School (Alabama) Auburn Tigers swimming and diving College swimming venues in the United States Sports venues completed in 1993 1993 establishments in Alabama