Tshwane’s oldest Olympic-sized swimming pool reopens

The City of Tshwane has removed the covers and opened the doors of Hillcrest swimming pool, which is the oldest of its kind in the city, allowing swimmers and coaches to get back to business.

Opened in 1955, the Hillcrest Swimming Pool is fifty metres long, the standard Olympic size, and ranges in depth from 1.3 metres to 3 metres.

South African swimmer Karen Muir, who broke the world backstroke record at age 12, used to train at the facility. Princess Charlene of Monaco, who was formerly a South African Olympic swimmer also used to frequent the pool.

Because it is designed to serve as a professional training facility for local athletes, the pool is heated during the winter to accommodate training in cold conditions.

For this reason, the pool is intended to be open in the summer and winter seasons. However, this has not been the case recently. 

Before reopening three weeks ago, the facility had been closed since October 2024, with the City of Tshwane citing water restrictions imposed by Rand Water as the reason.

The Democratic Alliance’s Spokesperson for Utilities in the City of Tshwane, Themba Fosi, accompanied Newsday on a visit to the pool.

Upon entering the premises, one is greeted by the clear blue colour of the water, with no apparent sign of the facility being run down. If anything, it just comes across as though it has not been modernised since it was first built.

However, upon closer inspection, the buildings surrounding the pool and the granstand runnig along its length show signs of wear and tear that have not been tended.

A section of the grandstand has been sectioned off, which appears to be due to structural instability, and rust has begun eroding parts of the viewing deck above the entrance.

There was also a staff room and club house on the other side of the pool to the entrance, branded with TYR signage, which appeared to be in need of restoration. However, we were told that we could not take images of these buildings.

Apart from this, the facility seems to be in good condition.

“It is important to have a swimming pool like this one open to the public. Even during a period of water restrictions,” Fosi said.

“Not only do Olympians and other athletes use the pool to train, but coaches rely on the facility remaining open to conduct their business.”

Fosi pointed out that the City of Cape Town, which experienced a significant period of drought between 2016 and 2018, kept certain “strategic pools” open to the public.

He said that there was initially a backlash from residents when the pool was closed at the beginning of the 2024 summer season.

“It was the residents who initially brought the issue of temporary closure to our attention,” Fosi said.

“We thought that the current administration would be strategic, as the executive mayor was around when we reopened the pool in 2023, and would have seen just how important it is to the locals.”

A frustrated ratepayer, Dr Genevieve Symonds, noted the impact that the pool’s closure had on the local community.

“I’m sick and tired of it. Children who belong to swimming clubs couldn’t swim this season because they had nowhere to swim,” she told the Rekord.

Another resident who had been using the facility for over half a century pointed to its lack of maintenance in early 2025, arguing that it should be handed over to private investors.

Fosi explained that, in addition to the business opportunities that the pools offer to coaches and other members of the public, there are also several permanent employees that the pool supports.

While most of the staff working at the facility said they were employed throughout the period of closure, occupied with maintenance responsibilities, others, such as lifeguards, were relocated to different departments.

No new maintenance

Fosi explained that during his tenure as a Member of the Mayoral Committee for Utilities and Regional Operations, he oversaw the maintenance of the pool in 2023.

“In 2023, we refurbished everything. This saw the installation of new pipes to heat the water during winter, a new pumping system, and general repairs to the place,” he said.

“We spent just less than R1 million on the job. Since we’ve been taken out of office, it has not been maintained for the longest time.”

Fosi is referring to a motion of no confidence raised against former Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink in 2024, who ActionSA candidate Dr Nosiphi Moya replaced.

The Rekord reported in May 2025 that the pool had been refilled without doing the necessary maintenance, despite claims by the City that repairs were ongoing.

According to the report, the pool had also turned green once it was refilled due to a lack of chlorine treatment. 

Newsday reached out to the City of Tshwane to inquire about whether maintenance had been performed this year, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

More images of Hillcrest Swimming Pool