The Manchester Aquatics Centre, abbreviated MAC, is a public aquatics sports facility south of the city centre of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, north of the main buildings of the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...

near

Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has over 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Educat ...

. It was purpose built for the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

, and cost £32 million to build. Before it was built, for many years its site was open waste ground, left by demolishing inner city industrial

terrace houses In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...

. The building was designed by FaulknerBrowns Architects. The building takes the approximate shape of an asymmetric trapezoidal prism (the apex provides clearance above the highest diving board), and from the outside, the roof resembles a wave. Construction started in August 1996, and was completed in July 2000, with finishing touches made in September 2001. MAC hosts many swimming and water polo events but also hosts Lancashire County Championships and Age group North west Regionals for swimming. It was opened on 12 October 2000, by Queen Elizabeth II. The pool was closed in 2021 for major refurbishment works over the following 2 years.

Facilities

The centre's facilities include: * Two 50 m swimming pools, each able to be split into sections of varying dimensions and depths with the help of moveable floors and booms. In fact, the centre has the world's largest area of movable floors and booms in a swimming facility. **The "main pool" on the ground floor is 50 m by 20 m with a maximum depth of 2 m. A sinkable boom can separate the pool into a 23 m by 21 m with constant depth between floor level and 2 m depth; and a 25 m by 21 m section at 2 m depth, which in turn can be separated by another sinkable boom to allow a section of 10 m by 21 m. The floors of these 3 sections can each be independently raised or lowered between very shallow and depth. 1,000 permanent spectator seats overlook the main pool hall. **The "training pool" is located in the basement and is 16 m by 50 m in size, with a constant depth of 1.8 m. A traversable boom allows separation into two 25 m length pools, one of which can be varied in depth from floor level to 1.8 m. The training pool's ceiling is in the shape of two long waves representing waves on water. *A 25 m

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 ...

pool (ground level) with movable floor to allow a maximum depth of 5.1 m. The pool is often also used for

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, 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 water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

, and

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for " Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chr ...

training. *A "leisure pool" (ground floor) – a shallow water area suitable for younger pool users, with two water

flume A flume is a human-made channel for water, in the form of an open declined gravity chute whose walls are raised above the surrounding terrain, in contrast to a trench or ditch. Flumes are not to be confused with aqueducts, which are built to t ...

s and two bubble pools. * Workout and fitness studios (behind the spectator seating), a health suite including

sauna A sauna (, ), or sudatory, is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a ...

and

steam room A steam bath is a steam-filled room for the purpose of relaxation and cleansing. It has a long history, going back to Greek and Roman times. History The origins of the steam bath come from the Roman bath, which began during the height of the R ...

. *Poolside

cafe A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

. File:Manchester Aquatics Centre Indoor.jpg File:Manchester Aquatics Centre Diving.jpg

Use

It is jointly owned by Manchester City Council, the

and

. All the facilities can be used by members of the public. The centre is the home of the City of Manchester Aquatics Swim Team, as well as Disability Swimming and Water Polo athletes within the

English Institute of Sport The English Institute of Sport (EIS), established in May 2002, is an organisation which provides sport science and medical support services to elite athletes through a nationwide network of expertise and facilities, working with Olympic and Pa ...

. As well as the

, the MAC has been used for: * Paralympic World Cup since 2005 * Training for 9th FINA World Short Course Championships 2008 * Duel in the Pool 2009 * LEN European Waterpolo *Training for teams for the 2012 Olympic Games * SwimBritain 2013

References

External links

The University of Manchester site

Manchester aquatics centre facilities list
{{Manchester B&S Commonwealth Games swimming venues Government buildings completed in 1997 Serco Sports venues in Manchester Swimming venues in England 2002 Commonwealth Games venues University swimming in the United Kingdom Water polo venues

Facilities

Use

See also

References

External links