More than 300 girls and boys from Nikšić, members of the swimming and water polo clubs who train at the Nikšić pool in the Sports Center, brought close to 3.000 medals from various competitions and became part of the youth national teams of Montenegro. Unfortunately, since April 3rd of this year, the pumps that supply the pool with hot water are not working, and therefore the pool, and the children, trying to stay in shape, went to the pools in Podgorica and Trebinje. Some have given up water sports and turned to "land sports", and parents of athletes and recreationists of Nikšić believe that the future of generations of talented children is threatened, if not destroyed.
The Sports Center announces the opening of the pool at the end of October, but at the beginning of next year another reconstruction will follow and the pool will not be open again for a month and a half.
Urgent procedure
Sanja Ljeskovic, manager of the marketing and public procurement sector, told "Vijesta" that the procurement and installation of compressors and electronics for "microcycler with assembly and modification of the electrical cabinet for the pool heating heat pump" is in progress.
"It is a negotiation procedure without prior publication of the call for public tenders, because it is an urgent procedure. The procedure was announced as soon as the Municipality provided us with funds of 35 thousand euros for procurement. We could enter the procedure at that moment. The first negotiation process was canceled because the documentation was not complete. After that, we re-announced the negotiation procedure, so that on September 2, the bids would be opened. There were two offers, and the offer of 'Frigo sistem' was better than 'Frigo lin' and the negotiation procedure is in progress. Tomorrow should be the final offer where they would know the exact price and delivery time, and then the contract will be signed. According to what we have now received, the delivery deadline is up to nine weeks and we expect, if everything goes well, that the pool would be put into operation at the end of October," she said.
Clubs disbanded
Parents of athletes and recreationists of Nikšić point out that in the last two years the swimming pool has worked for a total of two months, and in the last five years "maybe it would add up to a year of work".
"We can freely boast about the sudden increase in the number of children, athletes and recreationists who have started, or will start training in the discipline of drinking tap water, because it is the only way for them to compete in water sports in Nikšić, because they can only dream of a swimming pool. But, fortunately, they can also start fishing on the local Nikšić lakes", they are ironic because, as they say, irony is the only thing left for them, in addition to anger and indignation.
As they pointed out in the press release, several generations of athletes who were dedicated to swimming and water polo can now be said to have been destroyed.
"Local clubs have been dissolved and their future is in question, because they fired all the children because they could not provide conditions for training. We think that no one is aware that someone played with the fate of over 300 children who, somehow, trained when the pool was working and, trying to stay in shape, went to the pools in Podgorica and Trebinje. It looks like we definitely drove them out into the street", said the parents of the athletes whose medals were counted not only by them, but also by the city and the state and were proud of them.
The swimming pool was regularly used by citizens, children with developmental disabilities, and many times the "A" national team of Montenegro, as well as national teams of other countries, prepared in Nikšić.
Drašković: The story to be resolved to the end
Director of the Sports Center, Bosko Draskovic, told "Vijesti" that there was talk for a long time about the "problem of a technical nature that exists under the pool" because "the profession agreed that there are more of these problems".
"We wanted the profession to come to an agreement, which is why in all the previous years there were frequent failures, because when the smallest failure occurs, it is mandatory to drain the water and close the pool for about two months. All this took time, but this problem had to be solved properly", said Drašković.
As he pointed out, the municipality immediately provided them with funds of 35 euros, and expects to receive an additional 135 through the budget rebalancing.
"With the support of the founder, the Municipality of Nikšić, last year we completed the pipelines and replaced the quartz sand. At that moment it was a priority and the investment was about 100 thousand. Although the swimming pool will be put into operation after the heat pump is trained, I am of the opinion that all these problems must be solved in the coming period. With the rebalancing, we expect to receive 135 from the Municipality of Nikšić to do everything so that there are no unexpected breakdowns, and I have no doubt that it will pass unanimously in the Assembly. The profession says that there is still much in bad condition and that breakdowns can be expected, and the smallest breakdown requires water to be drained. I know that it is unpopular for us to enter the works again. Maybe someone else would be of the opinion - let it go that way, and let someone face him in another mandate, but I want everything around the pool to be finally resolved and there to be no more long closures, as happened before".
He is aware, as he pointed out, that a large number of children, as well as recreational players, train at the pool, and he knows what it means to interrupt the continuity of training.
"The pool is used by two swimming and water polo clubs in the city and over 300 children train there. It is not good that children interrupt the continuity of training, and the swimming pool is also important for citizens, because it is very important for their health and many citizens use it. I know that members of the swimming and water polo club are forced to train in another city, that there are parents who cannot financially support this. I know what it means in sports when continuity is lost, but this has to be finished and done. I am aware of how many talents Nikšić has in that sport, but I don't want to do this for a short time, but to solve this problem once and for all. I see that there are initiatives by parents and I understand them to the fullest. I think that the initiatives are in place, but I don't think that they are the initiatives of only the citizens who signed them, but that every citizen of Nikšić wants the swimming pool to be in operation all the time, and I, as the director, will do my best to ensure that this segment, no matter how expensive it is to maintain, survive. This is for the good of children, citizens and all future generations," said the director of the Sports Center Nikšić.
The great hall is finally warming up
The pool in Nikšić, the only Olympic pool in Montenegro, is also the biggest source of income.
"All this situation has shown us that much more funds should be allocated annually. These are big funds for the Municipality, but a swimming pool is an expensive amenity everywhere in the world. It is not sustainable, but it satisfies the public interest and the interest of sport. The money we are asking for through the budget rebalancing is to equip a small swimming pool, which is very important for small children, non-swimmers, and will certainly benefit the clubs a lot. In two years, with the money that we hope to get through the rebalancing, the investment in the swimming pool is over 300 thousand, which is certainly not small. We also renovated the tennis courts, installed a new irrigation system, and an outdoor soccer field," said Drašković.
He hopes that the great hall will finally be completely finished.
"The Great Hall was never finished. We have an energy efficiency project and we expect the Government to pass that project and enter the capital budget, to finally finish the large hall, to finally be able to heat it up, to complete the roof, facade, and changing rooms. That this midfield block is finally finished", said Drašković.
Construction of the pool began in 1972, and it was put into operation on September 18, 2000. It worked for only a few months, until December 22, 2000, before being activated again the following year, and again for a few months - from May to October. It was closed due to high maintenance costs and was turned into a small sports hall for several years. The reconstructed Olympic pool was opened on May 20, 2016, and the value of the works was around 1,4 million euros.
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