Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center celebrates re-opening with Olympians

Newly renovated Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center features highest dive platform in Western Hemisphere (WPLG)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. ā€“ The City of Fort Lauderdale celebrated the re-opening of its new aquatic center on Saturday and shared the moment with Olympians including Greg Louganis, Dara Torres and Sam Dorman.

According to a news release, the event showcased ā€œone of the worldā€™s tallest dive towers, the International Swimming Hall of Fameā€™s Dive Challenge and commemorated the 95th anniversary of Fort Lauderdaleā€™s famous Casino Pool.ā€

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The Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Centerā€™s dive tower is nearly 90-feet high and has state-of-the-art competition pools for both competitive and public use.

The 27-meter platform is designed to bring professional swimmers from across the globe to South Florida and help train the next generation.

The reopening also marked the 95th anniversary that the City of Fort Lauderdale built the first Olympic-sized pool in Florida.

Olympians Greg Louganis, Dara Torres and Sam Dorman joined world-famous cliff diver Ellie Smart for a dive demonstration and performance organized by the International Swimming Hall of Fame, the news release stated.

The festivities included a ribbon-cutting and remarks by Mayor Dean Trantalis, Commissioner Steven Glassman and Olympian Dara Torres.

The Aquatic Center is located at 501 Seabreeze Blvd. For more information please visit: Fortlauderdale.gov and search Aquatic Center.


About the Author:

Ryan Mackey is a Digital Journalist at WPLG. He was born in Long Island, New York, and has lived in Sunrise, Florida since 1994.