When the Tašmajdan swimming pool was renovated in 2019, the then Deputy Mayor of Belgrade, Goran Vesić, proudly and cheerfully announced the wonderful news on all social networks and media. It's just that the depth of the outdoor pool was reduced during the reconstruction, so now the new mayor Aleksandar Šapić, four years later, believes that the pool must be renovated again.
Namely, during the reconstruction in 2019, the depth was reduced so much that it no longer meets FINA standards, writes N1. At the beginning of the initial rehabilitation, Vesić stated that the depth of the pool would be reduced from 4,8 meters to two meters, but that, as he said, "will still enable all major competitions to be held, only that the pool will be safer and easier for cleaning".
Reconstruction of the reconstructed
Tašmajdan Sports Center will reconstruct the outdoor swimming pool and pool equipment, and the procurement value is 240 million dinars, as can be seen from the documentation on the public procurement portal. writes New Economy.
"That is why it is necessary to raise the height of the existing Olympic outdoor swimming pool. In addition to these works, as part of the changes to the aforementioned procurement, the reconstruction of the swimming pool equipment will also be carried out, which means the purchase and installation of an electrolyzer, which will enable the production of chlorine, the reconstruction of the complete room for filtering pool water, the replacement of 6 filters for filtering pool water, dosing pumps , pipelines, automatic valves, filtration pumps, electrical distribution cabinet and others," the tender documents state.
The reason for the reconstruction is, as stated in the public invitation, that during the last reconstruction of the pool in 2019, the depth of the pool was reduced, so the current one does not meet the requirements for holding international competitions in water sports. In addition, as part of the changes to the aforementioned procurement, the reconstruction of the swimming pool equipment will be carried out, which means the purchase and installation of an electrolyzer, which will enable the own production of chlorine.
Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that the company of Nikola Malbaša, one of the closest associates of Mayor Šapić and the president of the water polo club Novi Beograd, GP Jadran, is one of the most prominent contractors for the reconstruction of swimming pools in Serbia. In 2022 alone, alone or with partners, this company received jobs worth 100 million euros from the state. Among those jobs are tenders for the reconstruction of swimming pools in Gornji Milanovac and Velika Plana.
What do the FINA rules say?
The depth of the Taš pool of two meters meets the standards prescribed by the regulations The world organization for swimming sports FINA from 2021. According to the aforementioned rulebook, the minimum standards for the most popular Olympic sports are set: two meters for swimming, and 1.80 meters for water polo.
According to these standards, it is possible to organize all world championships in swimming and water polo under the patronage of FINA, as well as the Olympic Games. Proof of this is the recently held World Water Polo Championship in the city of Fukuoka, Japan, where water polo matches were played in a two-meter deep pool.
It is interesting that these water polo matches were played in the pool installed in Hall B of the Fukuoka Fair (Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall B), which indicates the trend of organizing large competitions in water sports in multifunctional facilities that have nothing to do with pools.
The European Water Polo Championship was also organized in Serbia in 2016, when the games were played in the Arena, where it was also the depth of the assembly pool was two meters. The Belgrade Arena will also host the best European water polo teams in 2026.
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