The
Friends are currently organising their biggest-ever raffle, to help
raise funds for new energy-efficient boilers for the Pool.
Aberdeenshire Council is supplying £20,000 of the estimated £42,000
total cost of these, so the Friends need to find £22,000. Tickets,
price £1 each or £5 per book are available from the Pool, the
Leisure Centre, Jon Hairdresser, Jane's Design Studio, The Shell
Hoosie and Giulianottis. The Friends will also be selling them at
the MRI Harbour Festival on 5th September, the same day as the
Raffle will be drawn! Prizes include £150 easyJet vouchers, £100 M&S
vouchers, £50 Amazon vouchers, £50 Argos vouchers and other prizes.
On
Saturday, 26 June, Olympic and Commonwealth Games swimmer David
Carry and his father, Aberdeen businessman Peter Carry, visited the
Pool to fit in some training for The Great Swim, which they are
both taking part in. This is a series of 1-mile outdoor swims for
both competitive and recreational swimmers. David has enjoyed
swimming in the Pool since he was a young lad, and values it greatly
as an important part of his training. “This is a 50 metre pool”, he
said, “the closest we have to a competition long-course pool, many
of which are outdoors. Although times are different in salt water,
competitive swimming is not only about times, but all about fitness
and training right - this pool is ideal for that.”
Jim
Milne CBE, Chairman and Managing Director of Balmoral Group,
Aberdeen opened the Pool on 29th May. Jim was instrumental in
ensuring that the Splasher dolphin waterspout for the Paddling Pool
was ready in time for last year’s opening – to the extent that he
worked on it personally through the night before the opening! The
Friends were delighted that Jim agreed to do the honours and open
the Pool for the 2010 season.
