Kirkwood High School Gets New Pool…..Kirkwood High School in Kirkwood, Missouri opened a new 25m indoor pool with the help from an $10 million dollar donation from the Walker Foundation. Another $1 million was given by an anonymous donor. The new facility is designed to be able to host both dive and swim competitions simultaneously. Says Kirkwood head swim coach Matt Beasley, “I’m pretty confident in saying this is going to be the best high school in the whole state.” Students and parents are now starting a $3 million fund to maintain the pool.
Canowindra Teacher Memorial….. Canowindra in New South Wales, Australia lost swimming instructor, Stephanie Scott, to a violent crime this past April and now the city is honoring her memory. A chair is scheduled to be installed at the Canowindra swimming pool, recognizing Scott’s heavy involvement in the community pool. Local councillor Anthony Durkin said Scott was a familiar face to many pool patrons, stating, “She was a trusted member of staff, and Steph became heavily involved with other pool users and especially groups that were coming there to learn to swim. She just became a really big icon.” The Cabonne Shire Council has agreed to pay for the memorial and Ms Scott’s family will select the words to be inscribed on the plaque.
UK Sport Funding May Be Cut…..Britain’s elite sport funding body, UK Sport, has warned that spending cuts potentially stemming from this past fall’s British Government Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) may have a “significant impact” on the nation’s sporting success in the future. “The current timetable suggests that this exercise will be taking place during the period in which we are at the height of our planning for the next Olympic/Paralympic cycle”, says UK Sport. The actual outcome of the CSR is expected to be released in November. The new British Sports Minister, Tracey Crouch, has already launched a public consultation due to the growing concerns the UK is failing to live up to the legacy promise of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Accommodation Concerns for Rio 2016…..Rio organizers have made it known that National Olympic Committees need to be prepared to seek non-traditional forms of accommodation during the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This includes renting apartments through Rio 2016’s partnership with Airbnb via an agreement signed earlier this year to offer as many as 20,000 ‘affordable’ accommodation options, predominantly aimed at fans attending the games. Availability and cost are both cited as key facets of Rio’s visitor housing issues, as just this past month at a meeting of NOC Presidents and secretary generals, there was a shortage of rooms for some of the delegation members, as well as members of coaching and support teams. One concerned NOC secretary general told insidethegames exclusively that “first and foremost, the challenge is one of availability.” However, cost is also a prohibitive factor, as some of the smaller NOCs have less financial capabilities to find logistically feasible accommodations near the Olympic venues.