The captain Makerere University swimming team, Martin Mugwanya, has called upon the University administration to construct a larger swimming pool that can match the growing number of students flocking the facility.
During an interview with this reporter recently, Mr. Mugwanya said that the swimming facility, which is designed to handle five to seven swimmers at ago under normal circumstances faces overcrowding and that sometimes they are forced to use the facility in an abnormal way to a accommodate more swimmers .
“Sometimes when the University swimming team is training, we are forced to use only one side of the swimming pool and leave the other for children and other students who come here to swim,” Mugwanya said.
Mr. Mugwanya also said that the size of the pool has denied many students a chance to join the swimming team. “We receive big numbers of swimmers including those who want to join the university team everyday. We have turned down very many people due to lack of enough space to accommodate them,” Mugwanya said.
Meanwhile, Kezia Wairimu, a member of the University swimming team, said that she has resorted to training in the morning because the pool is over crowded in the evenings. “If you came here in the evening, you will get very many people competing to use this pool. That is why; you have got me training now.” She said.
The pool is designed to accommodate between five and seven swimmers at ago but pressure on it makes it overcrowded. Each swimmer must pay a fee of Shs1000, which the department says, is for treating the water.