As four-year-old plans for an indoor pool in Gozo gather dust, about 150 swimmers are desperate for proper facilities that would enable them to practise water polo and other water sports all year round.

Not even in summer are they guaranteed that the temporary boom they use at Marsalforn is not disrupted by rough seas.

This is their only available facility, installed by the Otters Aquatic Sports Club during the summer months. Though it offers basic protection against jellyfish stings by means of an underwater mesh, it is no match for the occasional strong currents or inclement weather.

No alternatives have been presented so far by the government

As a result, even in the peak of summer, sessions have sometimes to be called off, as was the case in August last year when the boom was ripped apart by the waves, rendering it unusable for days.

Photo: Daniel CiliaPhoto: Daniel Cilia

The quest for an indoor pool on the sister island seemed to be over when, in July 2010, the planning authority gave the green light for the facility to be built adjacent to the Gozo Sports Complex in Victoria. But the project only got as far as the tendering process.

Replying to a recent parliamentary question, Gozo Minister Anton Refalo said that in spite of the hype generated in 2011 when the previous administration had unveiled a €6.2 million project, which should have been completed in 22 months, the pool never materialised.

While in favour of the project, he said the government was now looking into its financial viability and would be able to provide an update once the evaluation was complete.

Otters ASC, which is Gozo’s only water polo club, has been lobbying for proper facilities for some 20 years. Committee member and assistant coach Paul Dimech lamented the “lack of political will” by successive administrations.

“While our proposals on how to make the project financially sustainable have been shot down, no alternatives have been presented so far by the government,” he said.

Some of the ideas include the installation of photovoltaic panels on the roof of the adjacent sports complex to reduce the cost of heating a fresh water pool.

Another suggestion was to have a temporary inflatable structure to cover the pool in the winter months only.

“An indoor pool would also open up the opportunity for Gozitan students to receive swimming lessons during the scholastic year, in similar fashion to what happens in Malta at the Tal-Qroqq complex,” Mr Dimech argued. Additional streams of revenue could also be tapped by offering the facility to some 30 diving schools in Gozo and to Maltese clubs intending to stage a training camp on the sister island.

On the other hand, Mr Dimech said very few, if any, of the sports complexes were completely sustainable, with the government expected to provide a degree of financial support in most cases.

At present, 120 children attend swimming lessons in Gozo, according to the Otters ASC official. In addition some 30 waterpolo players take part in the seniors waterpolo league and in the national Under 15 and Under 20 categories.

“Though we are doing our best to promote aquatic sports at grassroots level, in recent years the level in Gozo has been no match for that in Malta where they are practised all year round.”

As the wait for an indoor pool gets longer, Gozitan youths keen to practise a sport in the winter months have few options apart from football, Mr Dimech said.

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