Swim Chats

Author: Shona Riddell

Every swimmer has a story to tell. Writer and swimmer Shona Riddell chats to marathon swimmers, dippers, coaches, ocean experts, and more. Whether youre a swimmer yourself, or just interested in stories about the sea and people expanding their comfort zones, you'll enjoy these swim chats. Please hit the 'Follow' button so you dont miss an episode, leave a star rating, and share with friends. Enjoying the podcast? Support it on patreon.com/swimchats, or buy me a coffee via https://ko-fi.com/swimchats
Be a guest on this podcast

Language: en

Genres: Sports, Swimming

Contact email: Get it

Feed URL: Get it

iTunes ID: Get it

Trailer:

Get all podcast data

Listen Now...

How to save a swimming pool: the Aquadome story
Episode 21
Sunday, 13 September, 2026

When Wellington’s school pools began disappearing, Steve Hind decided to do something about it. The result was the Aquadome⁠ a thriving community swimming facility that opened in 2018.In 2009, Steve noticed a decline in the number of school pools in the region. Both of his daughters attended Wellington East Girls’ College and there was an unused pool on the grounds. The council pools were busy at peak times, so Steve and Gary Hurring, a former NZ swim champion, decided to restore the college pool. As Steve explains: “It felt like everything just came together. It became obvious to us that we should get it heated, get it covered – at the time it was just a hole in the ground. We set off with very naive ideas of the cost … we pitched it to the school originally as $200,000 but in the end it was over $1.5 million.”The restored, indoor Aquadome opened in 2018 with a warm-water training pool and a 25m heated lap pool with six lanes, as well as new changing rooms and showers. The Wellington Swim Trust oversees the pool to keep it running and it's used by several primary schools, local colleges, and community groups. In this episode Steve explains what compelled him and Gary to take on this massive project, how they raised the money (there was an unexpected donation of UHT milk), how the Trust keeps the pool running, and why it’s so important for kids to have accessible spaces to learn to swim and train for events.Steve’s daughter Tash was a double Olympian and Commonwealth Games medallist, while his daughter Georgia has represented NZ in open water swimming and surf lifesaving – both have worked as swim coaches at the Aquadome. Visit the Swim Trust website for more information about the Aquadome. Photo: The Aquadome indoor swimming pool in Wellington (Steve Hind)*Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠StokedNZ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for your towelies and get 15% off with the discount code SWIMCHATS Enjoy the podcast? Buy me a coffee via ⁠https://ko-fi.com/swimchats⁠Become a Swim Buddy via ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/SwimChats⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Swim Chats on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact me at swimchatswithshona at gmail dot comHit 'Follow' so you don't miss an episode. Thanks for listening! :-)