A world-class sports star will swap his snowboard for swimming trunks this weekend at the launch of one of Aberdeenshire’s most popular summer attractions.
Team GB Winter Olympian, Ben Kilner, will attend the grand reopening of Stonehaven’s renowned swimming pool on Saturday.
The Art Deco venue was created in 1934 and is Britain’s only Olympic-size, heated seawater, open-air pool.
The seawater, taken from Stonehaven Bay, is filtered, treated and heated to 29°C, making it warmer than the Mediterranean for most of the summer.
Speaking about his involvement, Mr Kilner said: “As a snowboarder, opening a swimming pool will be a first for me.
“But as any athlete knows, swimming is a great way to keep fit and the Stonehaven pool is an amazing facility for Aberdeenshire, offering healthy fun and swimming for all ages.”
The Friends of Stonehaven Pool group have been busy during the last few months in the build-up to the new season.
Their chairman, Pete Hill, said: “We are particularly delighted to welcome an Olympic athlete to officially open the pool for 2016.
“Ben represents an age group which tends not to swim in the pool.
“Kids, parents and grandparents are great supporters, but there’s a big gap between teens and parents who seem to forget we exist.
“We say the pool is cool when it’s hot and fun when it’s not. We hope Ben will help raise the profile with that missing age group.”
Aberdeenshire Council’s head of lifelong learning and leisure, John Harding, added: “The Friends have worked tirelessly to make sure the pool is in the best possible condition for what we hope will be a fun and successful season.
“They have invested a significant amount of time to make sure every visitor has a good time, while the council has been recruiting and training staff to ensure a safe and fun environment for all guests.”
The facility will open at 11am on Saturday, May 28 and will be open daily until September 4.
Full details of opening times can be found on the official website www.stonehavenopenairpool.co.uk or on the Stonehaven Heated Open Air Pool Facebook page.