The University at Buffalo's Natatorium is home to both the men's and women's swimming and diving teams and is comparable to any facility in the East and includes movable bulkheads, four springboards and four diving platforms, accommodations for the handicapped and gallery seating for 1,000 spectators.
The facility has held some of the nation's finest swim competitions. Division II & III NCAA Nationals, the World University Games, the Mid-Continent Conference Championships (three consecutive years), the Mid-American Conference Championships and the Empire State Games are only a few of a long list of prestigious meets the Natatorium has hosted. Along with an outstanding competition pool, there is also the world class diving well. Boasting a maximum depth of 18 Feet and holding 500,000 gallons of water, it is accompanied with both 1 and 3 meter springboards and 1,5,7 and 10 meter platforms.
The pool which is 50 meters long and 25 yards wide holds 700,000 gallons of water. From April through October, the pool is setup in long course format. With the ability to have blocks on both ends, the eight lane pool is able to hold any long course competition. During the winter months, the pool is converted to short course. With a bulkhead in the middle, the pool can hold competitions on both ends simultaneously. This is further enhanced with the technology of Colorado Timing Systems. With two eight lane scoreboards, and the accuracy of automatic timing, this system helps enhance the greatness of the facility.
UB's Natatorium is also on the cutting edge of water treatment technology with an ultraviolet filtration system that was installed in the spring of 2000. The unique system is the first of its kind to be used in a pool in the state of New York, and it was donated as a Gift-in-Kind to the University at Buffalo from Wedeco/Ideal Horizons of Poultney, VT, Environmental Resources Management of Pittsford, NY and Final Filtration, Inc. of Amherst, NY. The system, which costs more than $55,000, uses ultraviolet light instead of chlorine to clean and sterilize the water in the pool without chemicals, thereby reducing corrosion, the chlorine smell and skin irritation to swimmers and making the water quality in the Alumni Arena Natatorium cleaner and healthier.
