Features

It's the Aquatics Centre at the John Charles Centre for Sport in South Leeds, built to replace the 40-year-old Leeds International Pool.

The new venue is capable of hosting national and international swimming and diving events, with seating for 650 overlooking the main pool and a further 150 at the diving pool.

The centre boasts of one of the best synchronised diving facilities in Europe, with 10m-high boards built specifically to accommodate two divers performing simultaneously.

The diving displays can be recorded by a number of cameras taking shots from different angles so divers can analyse their performance in detail after plunging into the 17m x 15.5m diving pool.

One of the main features of the Aquatics Centre’s main pool is its two submersible booms (walls) which will enable it to be divided into three separate pools of different sizes.

Another innovation is the 10m x 25m floating floor, enabling depth adjustments from two metres to the shallow water that is more suitable for teaching. It will also host children’s pool parties, sub aqua sessions, aerobics classes and swimming lessons.

BBC Radio Leeds' Julie Langford went for a look round the Aquatics Centre and spoke to Paul Ibbottson from the William Saunders Partnership.

Paul describes some of the features of the 50m-long, 25m-wide pool.