The OCBC Aquatic Centre was opened in the new Singapore Sports Hub in Kallang to cater to the needs of growing sports in Singapore. It is by far the full public indoor swimming pool available in Singapore that does not require a membership to have access to. The entrance is $2.20 and can be purchased at the entrance of the centre.
Basically, there are 2 pools here. Competition and the training pool. The competition pool is most of the time being used for trainings by swimming teams and other school swim teams. The training pool with varying speed lanes are mostly opened to the public for their recreational swims.
Located in the new Sports Hub, this facility is very new, thus the facilities are still new and clean. There are actually two toilets for changing. One is at the training pool and the other at the competition pool. Changing room and toilets at the competition pool side has more cubicles for shower and changing.
After stepping in through the gantry, you will see an area of lounge chairs, that will lead you to the training pool. The pool setting kind of remind me of the swimming pools in Europe. The showers are equipped with hot water and the taps are not the press and release type. Which means you can have a full shower in the room without having to keep pressing the tap. All the lockers are number locked, there are no keys. The fee of $2.20 is also inclusive of the usage of the locker. This makes it very convenient for keeping your items safely without having to carry a key all around while you swim.
The water in the pool is does not have the same heavy chlorine smell as of the usual public pools. However, it being a fully indoor and sheltered pool, the water tends to be quite cold compared to the sunny outdoor pools that we usually have. Some of the swimmers actually wore thermal wear in the pool. For me, I felt that if you start to work out in the pool fast, it should be okay.
Since the pool is very new, it will be good that you bring along your swim cap just to be conscious of keeping the water clean. I enjoyed the swim very much as being an indoor pool, your speed is not affected by the conditions outside. The filtration system of the pool is also not very strong as such it is not so difficult to maneuver inside the pool.
The as swim courses are not conducted in the training pool, you can be assured of a tranquil and quiet swim in the pool, rather than the usual running about and disruption from the children learning to swim.
The pool can be accessed from Kallang MRT through a long walk way. Another best alternative is to take the circle line to Stadium MRT. The walk to the exact location can be a bit long. Do give OCBC Aquatic Centre a try!
Me in one of the cubicles
Outlook of the OCBC Aquatic Centre, this is also where you will purchase the tickets for entrance.
Number lockers are also available for the swimmers to use ( incl in your ticket price)
Hairdrying facilities are also provided for swimmers to dry their hair after a good swim.