The belated official opening of the new Tuapeka Aquatic Centre in Lawrence went off ''swimmingly'', organisers say.
About 250 people attended the ceremony, complete with a welcome by schoolchildren and a cutting of the ribbon, at the pool on Friday.
It took about seven years to complete the $2.3 million facility in time for a shortened swimming season at the start of the year.
Aquatic centre chairman Garry McCorkindale said the committee decided to have the official opening at the start of this swimming season after construction delays meant it was not opened until February and by that stage there was not enough time to organise an official opening.
''The key thing was to get people swimming,'' Mr McCorkindale said.
He was ''very pleased'' with the opening and was proud the community pulled together to create a ''fantastic'' swimming facility.
The opening of the aquatic centre was a significant boost for Lawrence following the closure of its predecessor.
Use of the pool was subscription based and Mr McCorkindale said he was happy with the numbers using it.
''[Last season] there wasn't a daylight hour where the water was still.''
He hoped to get a swim club started for people to learn to swim and get involved in competitive swimming.
