By Kemoh Sesay
The technical director of the Sierra Leone Swimming Association (SLSA), Victor Carew has told Politico Sport that the swimming pool at the national stadium is not under their control as an association, but under the stadium management, with the supervision of the Sports Minster.
Carew said that they had written several times to the ministry to grant them ownership of the pool so they could upgrade its facilities.
“We already have an Italian construction company that was sent here by theFédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) to reconstruct the whole swimming pool, but we are waiting on the reply from the Sports Minister” he said.
He said plans were underway to construct swimming pools both in Freetown and in the provinces, to make swimming more attractive.
The head coach of swimming, Bobson Mansaray expressed his frustration regarding the general hygiene condition of the pool. “The water in the pool is sometimes not available and there is nothing we can do if it’s not there”, he said, adding “such constraints normally affect my training plans especially when I am dealing with the young swimmers” he said.
He called on the Ministry to give the swimming association’s executive the facility so they would be upgraded, stressing that there were very good swimmers in Sierra Leone.
(C) Politico 23/05/13
