Open sesame for swimming at Mahinda

By Text and Pictures by Saman Kariyawasam

The Mahinda College swimming pool was declared open by Lion Shirly Perera recently. The project cost 15 million and was funded by Bushby Lions club of UK on the request of former joint secretary of the Mahinda College OBA Lion Nissanka Epaliyana.

This is the first ever swimming pool constructed by a Lions Club in any part of the world. It has a 25 x 16.5 meters pool with 8 lanes and a 3 x 10 meters mini pool for children including a pavilion with seating accommodation for 300 spectators and a trade centre. It will cater to a 25,000 student population among seven national schools in Galle area who used the old jetty at fort for swimming practices.

‘I was motivated by the tragic death of the wife and a daughter of a member of the Hikkaduwa 300A-1 Lions club who were engaged in swimming practices in the old jetty when the tsunami hit the Galle town in December 24th 2004’ Nissanka said.

Mahinda College agreed to provide land for the construction of the swimming pool. However the student communities of all schools in the Galle town are beneficiaries of the project.

The opening of the swimming pool coincided with the 115th anniversary of the arrival of Colonel Henry Steel Olcott to Sri Lanka, who founded Mahinda College and many other Buddhist institutions in the country.