Taipei City Geotechnical Engineering Office

Today (May 17th), Su Li-Chiung, the Secretary-General of Taipei City Government, and Li Xian-Ming, Secretary-General of Taoyuan City Government, together announced the official launch of the adjustable swimming pool for the finals of the swimming and water polo events in the 2017 Summer Universiade. Secretary-General Su said the adjustable pool for the 2017 Summer Universiade swimming and water polo finals was completely assembled after 60 days’ construction from March 6th to May 5th, and the test runs have been conducted. Chinese Taipei Swimming Association (CTSA) was authorized by the International Swimming Federation (FINA) to conduct site inspection before its official launch.

　　Today, Taipei City Government specially invited Taoyuan City Government, Sports Administration of the Ministry of Education, National Taiwan Sport University and CTSA to participate in the opening ceremony. Zhang Ke-Xiang and Huang Jun-Xiang, gold medalists in the 2017 National High School Athletic Games, were also invited to experience the brand new swimming pool, symbolizing that the City is ready for the arrival of 2017 Summer Universiade on August 19th.

　　Secretary-General Su added that the 2017 Summer Universiade requires a total of 60 venues, including 2 newly built venues, 53 renovated venues and 5 venues which require only decoration before the events. As of May 17th, the renovation of 52 venues has been completed, and that of the remaining 1 venue is nearly done.

　　Chen Jian-Fan, section chief of the Geotechnical Engineering Office, said that the adjustable swimming pool for the finals of 2017 Summer Universiade swimming and water polo finals is in the sports center of National Taiwan Sport University, which is located in Taoyuan City’s Guishan District. The main structure of the pool is built with 150 pieces of high quality hot-dip galvanized steel in combination with PVC waterproof fabric, and the bottom is secured with steel cables. After injecting the water, the dimension can be slightly adjusted to ensure it conforms to the competition standards of FINA.

　　In view of the green pool water incident during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, the 2017 Summer Universiade has adopted a circulation system of modular and highly efficient filtration and disinfection equipment imported directly from Spain for its swimming pool. In addition, the water quality engineer of the original manufacturer has confirmed that the water quality meets the standards of FINA and International University Sports Federation (FISU).

　　To cater to the requirements of the venue, a poolside elevated platform was especially imported from the United Kingdom and adjusted based on the venue’s profile and pipelines. Each square meter can withstand a load up to 500 kg, ensuring the safety of the athletes and the staff during the competitions.
　　An adjustable swimming pool is a new trend in today’s international swimming competitions. As long as the venue is able to withstand the load of the pool water, it will be able to host swimming competitions, without having to build a new facility for the game. According to past experience, a standard adjustable swimming pool can be assembled in approximately 1 month by working continuously day and night. Together with light and sound effects, it will make the competition even more exciting. Similar projects were done for the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.

Download video of the pool: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_LIHFEx4HilOW4wTjgwd2tkVkE/view
Download time-lapse photographs of the construction: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9fkjvZVLf3rY1dPZW5zeVpZR0U
　　PS.: You may visit the website of the Geotechnical Engineering Office, Public Works Department, Taipei City Government (http://www.geo.gov.taipei/) (Chinese) to download the pictures.