Train like elite athletes at the OCBC Aquatic Centre
PHOTO: SINGAPORE SPORTS HUB
If you’re feeling like switching up your workout routine, how about taking it underwater? Swimming is great low-impact, full-body exercise for people of all ages and fitness levels. It’s a great way to build muscle strength and keep cardiovascular diseases at bay, and the OCBC Aquatic Centre is where both serious athletes and those just learning to swim can go to train. Let’s take a look at what makes this world-class facility so special.
It’s a world-class facility
The pools here meet Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) standards — basically, Olympic standards. Besides being great for swimming laps, it’s also nice for water polo, diving and synchronised swimming events. In fact, the OCBC Aquatic Centre has played host to quite a number of events, such as the 5th FINA World Junior Swimming Championships, FINA Diving Grand Prix, FINA Swimming World Cup and the 28th SEA Games — the very same one where Joseph Schooling set nine Games records and the Singapore Synchronised Swimming Team won their very first gold medal in the sport.
Besides the swimming pools though, the rest of the venue is pretty impressive, with a seating capacity of 3,000. If needed, the seats can be expanded to fit up to 6,000 people, making it perfect for hosting premier regional and international aquatic competitions as well as community-run events. The pools are completely sheltered, so you can head down for a dip, rain or shine. The OCBC Aquatic Centre’s roof has been designed to ensure there is plenty of daylight, ventilation and air handling, with large industrial fans to keep the airflow going. Entry to the pool is priced competitively, at $2 per entry or you can also purchase a swim pass for 8 visits (plus 2 free visits!) or 30- and 90-day passes.
Elite athletes train here
Our elite athletes like Joseph Schooling, Quah Zheng Wen, Jonathan Chan, Freida Lim and Yip Pin Xiu train at the OCBC Aquatic Centre. So, if you’d like to start training for the Olympics yourself, you too can train where the athletes do! There are a few different pools for beginners and experienced swimmers alike. Improve your timings in the 8-lane Training Pool or 10-lane Competition Pool, which can be reconfigured to allow short- and long-course pool configurations thanks to a movable bulkhead.
There are classes you can sign up for
If you are looking to bring out your inner water baby, you can sign up for a range of aqua fitness classes for adults and swimming lessons for both adults and kids! The aqua fitness classes are a good option for low-impact exercise, especially for those with joint pain. Being in the water helps to take some pressure off your joints, which means HIIT and spinning classes won’t hurt as much. Besides the regular aqua fitness programmes, you can choose from the upcoming holiday programmes. Interested participants can sign up for Learn To Dive and Competitive Diving, and Introduction to Artistic Swimming programmes soon, so keep checking back on our website!
Come discover the fun of aquatic activities and maybe even discover a new talent when you train where our national athletes train. Or, you know, when the sun is blistering outside, jump in for a dip!
Head over to our website to learn more about our aquatic programmes.
