Catbalogan builds PH’s 2nd floating pool to empower athletes

David Lozada

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Catbalogan builds PH’s 2nd floating pool to empower athletes
The floating Olympic-size pool is inspired by a similar project unveiled in Panabo City in Davao del Norte during the 2015 Palarong Pambansa

MANILA, Philippines – No pool? No problem!

In a bid to develop world-class swimmers from the city, the Catbalogan City Division of the Department of Education (DepEd) created a floating swimming pool in the middle of the sea.  

The pool is standard Olympic size. It has 9 lanes and can accommodate 50 people. 

“Actually, the concept is very simple but the impact will be huge not only on our students. I realized that swimmers in the provinces are telling us that they are good in swimming. But when we look at them swim, they do not possess the standard strokes,” Cristito Eco, DepEd Catbalogan City division chief, told Rappler.

He added: “With this facility, having all the materials – the pool, the basic proper strokes printed in tarpaulins – even kids who are not yet in school can learn the standards in swimming.”

The pool is located one hour away from the city center. It will serve at least 7 barangays in the island community. 

Inspired by Davao del Norte

The pool in Catbalogan was actually inspired by the very first floating swimming pool in the country, in Panabo City, Davao del Norte. It was inaugurated when the province hosted the Palarong Pambansa in May 2015.

According to Eco, he saw the story after Rappler published a mini documentary on the efforts of swimming coach Mustari Raji, who conceptualized the project. (WATCH: Floating pool future of PH swimming 

“I was actually inspired by the project considering that the location in Panabo is similar to us. The opportunity and the need was also very urgent in our case because we have students who are good in swimming,” Eco said.

He added: “I know that constructing one of the swimming pools in Catbalogan will enhance the students’ skills and competitiveness, not only in the regional competition but also in the nationals.”

OLYMPIC SIZE. The floating swimming pool has 9 lanes and its docks can accommodate up to 50 people. Photo by Rupert Ambil/ Rappler

Compared to a controlled fresh water pool, the biggest difference is, swimmers will have to deal with the sea’s current and waves. The theory is swimmers trained in the floating pool are stronger and more resilient than those trained in a controlled pool. 

“We added some modifications to the design. We added coconut and bamboo on the sides so it becomes a fish sanctuary. There are some fishes beside the pool now,” he added.

The facility can also be docked in case of a typhoon. The maintenance is being handled by DepEd and the community. 

Eco said the local government was very supportive of the project. They did not have any trouble looking for funding. 

“The challenge we met actually was about who will build the pool, not so much the budget, because some contractors who had initial talks with me backed out because they didn’t have an idea of how to come up with the pool,” he said.

According to Eco, in finding innovative solutions for communities, budget is not as important as the concept and the impact of what can be done.

“The first thing we actually do is to look for urgent needs, problems, then come up with solutions. The money and support will come later, especially if you’re able to package the project and present it to the stakeholders. If you package your program well, then support will come in,” the school official added.

7,107 islands

SCENIC. Swimmers take a short boat ride to get to the floating pool in the middle of the sea. Photo courtesy of Paulus Aragon/ Parayaw Katbalaugan

The concept of the floating pool is innovative, given that it can be recreated in other island or coastal towns and villages. 

“I actually learned how to swim at an early age, but not the standard one. During my childhood, we used to play in the sea but we couldn’t swim far. It wasn’t the standard strokes we learned,” Eco recalled. 

It is relatively inexpensive to create a floating swimming pool, with the one in Davao del Norte costing only P400,000. This is a big help to local governments without the budget to build facilities for their youth. 

“Two years ago, we didn’t have any pools in Catbalogan. We bring the kids to a nearby town with a river. We train them there to swim against the current. It’s expensive because you have to pay for their food and fare. This facility is more cost efficient,” Eco said in a mix of Filipino and English. 

Building future champions

Eco wants the pool to be an example to other government and DepEd units to use innovation for sports development. 

“Just because you don’t have a standard facility means you will just do nothing. All we need to do is look for innovative solutions so the kids will have something to use in their journey in a particular sport,” he added in Filipino. 

MORE THAN MEDALS. DepEd Catbalogan City believes in building the future of Philippine sports. Photo courtesy of Paulus Aragon/ Parayaw Katbalaugan

Aside from teaching kids, Eco also empowers the teachers in Catbalogan. “This facility is useless if we don’t train the teachers. We need to capacitate them to embrace swimming so they can develop more kids,” he added.

The kids were the happiest to see the facility.

“The kids were saying that if I had created this earlier, they would’ve been able to compete in Palaro. A lot of the Grade 1 and Kinder students are already interested to learn,” Eco said. 

Catbalogan City hopes the floating pool will help them create world-class champions in the sport. The DepEd division proves that innovation can have a big impact on communities, even with minimal financial support.

Swimmers from the city are surely the team to watch out for in the next Palarong Pambansa. – with reports from Rupert Ambil/ Rappler.com

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