Swimming officials ‘concerned’ by Victorian plan to rip up Commonwealth Games pools

Swimming Victoria’s CEO says the state’s existing pools are ‘ageing’ and failing to keep up with the growing population, particularly in Melbourne’s west. Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

Swimming Victoria was only made aware of a plan to build two pools for the 2026 Commonwealth Games – only to rip them out afterwards – just months before the government cancelled the event.

Jason Hellwig, the chief executive of Swimming Victoria, has told an upper house inquiry into the event’s cancellation that on 30 May he was briefed about the government’s plans to build a new swimming and diving centre in Armstrong Creek, on Geelong’s fringe.