Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
Fort Lauderdale has operated Olympic-sized swimming pools since 1928, making it the first city in Florida to do so. Its aquatic center was renovated and reopened in 2022, featuring modern facilities managed by Laura Voet, who expressed pride in serving the city and its aquatics community. The center is recognized for fostering camaraderie and sportsmanship among athletes from various countries participating in aquatic sports.
A key feature of the renovation is the addition of a high diving tower with nine platform levels, including 15m, 20m, and 27m heights. This tower is the only permanent, freestanding high diving structure in the western hemisphere. It enables the facility to offer springboard, platform, and high diving from a purpose-built structure, which may inspire the development of similar towers globally to support the growth of high diving.
The high diving tower is used daily by elite divers, including World Aquatics High Diving World Cup competitors, Red Bull Cliff Divers, and national teams from around the world who travel to Fort Lauderdale specifically for training. According to the aquatic center manager, these athletes are regular visitors, often preparing for upcoming competitions at the facility.
The tower’s nine levels support athletes at different stages of development. Young divers typically begin training on lower levels and gradually advance to higher platforms. The facility’s training approach includes dry land preparation before divers enter the water, emphasizing progression tailored to the sport’s physical and mental demands.