The Nicosia Nautical Club (NOL) has lost access to two lanes at the Nicosia Olympic Swimming Pool, deepening a dispute with the Cyprus Sports Organisation (CSO) over the allocation of training facilities.
The lanes had been used by NOL’s under-12 swimming group, which fields around 40 athletes and sits second in the Cyprus Water Polo Federation’s under-12 championship. The club says the loss is stunting its athletes’ development and causing overcrowding at training sessions.
NOL, one of the capital’s longest-established sports clubs, has also raised concerns about the impact of new clubs entering the facility, arguing that their arrival disrupts arrangements that have been in place for years. The club has long called for a major upgrade of the Olympic Swimming Pool to bring it in line with 2026 international standards.
CSO president Giannis Ioannou, responding to the criticism in an official statement to Phileleftheros, said the organisation was acting in the interests of all athletes. “CSO does not operate with bias. Our goal is the optimal use of public swimming pools for the benefit of the full spectrum of swimming,” he said.
Ioannou said lane allocation is based on objective criteria and the number of active athletes each club registers. He stressed that the Olympic Swimming Pool is public property and no club can claim preferential ownership of any lanes. He added that studies are under way to improve the facilities, and called on all parties to adopt a spirit of cooperation rather than confrontation. NOL’s request will be placed before the CSO Sports Facilities Committee, he said.
