{"id":419215,"date":"2020-02-27T14:20:25","date_gmt":"2020-02-27T21:20:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=419215"},"modified":"2020-02-27T14:20:25","modified_gmt":"2020-02-27T21:20:25","slug":"michelle-ford-the-golden-girl-of-carss-park-fighting-to-save-her-pool-of-dreams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/michelle-ford-the-golden-girl-of-carss-park-fighting-to-save-her-pool-of-dreams\/","title":{"rendered":"Michelle Ford, the Golden girl of Carss Park, fighting to save her pool of dreams"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the massive debate raging in Australia over the future of Olympic sports funding and a multi-million dollar Federal Government \u201csports rorts\u201d scandal still raging\u2013 another of Sydney\u2019s swimming icons \u2013 Carss Park Pool – is about to be washed down the drain.<\/p>\n

But not without a fight from its favourite daughter \u2013 Olympic golden girl Michelle Ford.<\/p>\n

The debate over the \u201cnon applied for\u201d $10 million grant to upgrade Australia\u2019s most famous North Sydney Olympic Pool continues to cause waves for Prime Minister Scott Morrison who is under enormous pressure to resign over the disproportionate \u201cunder the lap\u201d funding facilities scheme.<\/p>\n

HOW NORTH SYDNEY OLYMPIC POOL WON $10 MILLION UPGRADE<\/a><\/p>\n

SPORTS RORTS SCANDAL<\/a><\/p>\n

And it comes on top of the expected $1million development funding cut to State Swimming Associations from the Australian Sports Commission to Swimming Australia which Swimming Queensland says could see Olympic future champions lost to the sport.<\/p>\n

SWIMMING AT CROSSROADS SAYS QLD BOSS<\/a><\/p>\n

Now another historic Sydney aquatic centre \u2013 Carss Park Pool ironically in Scott Morrison\u2019s own electorate \u2013 remains in a fight to save its famous lanes.<\/p>\n

Lanes that Australia\u2019s only individual gold medalist from the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, Ford, is fighting daily to save.<\/p>\n

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DON’T WAVE GOODBYE TO MY POOL: Michelle Ford in Moscow after winning Olympic gold in the 800m freestyle. Now she leads the fight to save her beloved Carss Park Pool. Photo Courtesy: Russ McPhedran (Hanson Media Collection).<\/p><\/div>\n

Ford, who is celebrating the 40th<\/sup> anniversary of her 800m freestyle gold against the might of the East Germans, is in the front line of anther major fight as a key member of the \u201cRebuilding Carss Park Pool\u201d Action Group.<\/p>\n

And the question is being asked in the Sutherland Shire: \u201cDoes Georges River Council need its own \u2018Sports Rorts\u2019 investigation?<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy is swimming, which is a major Olympic sport, being discriminated against? And why is Cricket and Golf getting so much investment?\u201d they ask.<\/p>\n

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FUTURE CHAMPIONS: People power lining up to save Carss Park Pool. Photo Courtesy: The Leader Newspaper.<\/p><\/div>\n

Today is the deadline for responses to the Georges River Council\u2019s Draft Regional Aquatic Site Suitability and Feasibility Study.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the last chance to write to Council telling them we want Carss Park Pool rebuilt on the current site,\u201d says Ford, as passionate as ever to save her pool as she was about representing Australia in two Olympic campaigns.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the number one priorities this newly formed Council should have planned is the business case and funding sources for the redevelopment of Carss Park Pool, to bring it to modern day standards, so as to protect and preserve this existing community asset,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

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LANES OF GOLD: Carss Park Pool, home to so many great Sydney swimming champions. Photo Courtesy: Dick Caine.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cInstead, Council are doing everything they can to NOT rebuild Carss Park Pool, delaying any decision-making by paying external consultants to conduct expensive studies and surveys and developing 6-year timelines for the delivery of a new aquatic facility and ignoring the wishes of the community in the surveys which is overwhelmingly in favour of rebuilding Carss Park Pool at the current site.<\/p>\n

\u201cCouncils such as City of Gold Coast are delivering an aquatic centre redevelopment at Miami Aquatic Centre for $18m<\/a>. This redevelopment has everything we need at Carss Park and it is being delivered in 12months.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the other hand, in the last 3 years Georges River Council have committed funding or delivered the following golf and cricket projects, without prolonged surveys and business cases: –<\/p>\n