The University Of Minnesota Aquatic Center needed an update. CTS was there to make it happen.

The University of Minnesota Aquatic Center hosted this year's NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Division I Championships and the Big Ten Conference Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, featuring world record times and the largest permanent video display in an aquatic facility in the United States.

Built in 1988, the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center was due for an overhaul. According to Aquatic Director, Duane Proell, the original pool in Cooke Hall dated back to 1934, and their original CTS equipment dated back to the early '70s. "It still works," said Proell. "We still use the touchpads we bought from CTS in 1989."

The University of Minnesota wanted an aquatic center that could host major swimming and diving events, and other aquatic events, as well as provide entertainment value for audiences.

Once awarded the contract for the aquatic facility, CTS and the University developed a strategy to maximize the impact of the renovation and make the facility a complete competitive and recreational venue.

CTS consulted with the University, reviewing the initial design and making detailed suggestions on the placement of seating, starting platforms, deck and wall plates and the scoreboard/video display.

Duane Proell has been aquatic director at the University of Minnesota for the past 16 years, and consults with aquatic facilities around the country. "In my 32 years as aquatics director of different facilities, I've used nothing but CTS equipment," he said. "That's because when I'm looking at equipment, I have three criteria: durability, company backing and ease of use. CTS equipment is by far the best at all three."

Hosting 65 events a year has made Proell a stickler for customer service. "I can't have my equipment broken down for more than a day," he said. "With CTS, the turnaround time is minimal."

Once the university approved the final plans, CTS began work on installing the complete timing and scoring system, as well as the animation and video boards.

"The renovation has changed everything we do," said Proell. "The system scoreboard and software have so many capabilities that we haven't even scratched the surface yet. CTS has the best aquatic equipment in the business."

Proell tends to rave when talking about CTS. "The CTS team was fabulous in leading us to the right board," Proell said. "It couldn't fit us better if we'd had it custom made. We are thrilled with the new board. I'm always thrilled with anything from CTS."

The University of Minnesota Aquatic Center is nearly two acres in size, and is recognized as one of the premier aquatic facilities in the nation. The state-of-the-art Aquatic Center features:

• Dorothy L. Sheppard Pool
• 8-lane, 50-meter Olympic regulation competition pool
• Diving well equipped with
• 1- and 3-meter springboards
• 5, 7.5, and 10 meter platforms

Competition & Training

The competition pool and diving well are equipped with complete timing and scoring systems that include:

• start systems
• timing and scoring systems for swimming, diving, water polo and synchronized swimming competitions
• touchpads and touchpad caddy
• relay judging platforms (RJPs) with Speedlights
• pace clocks
• underwater speakers for underwater recall and training
• remote judging terminals for diving and synchronized swimming competitions
• deck plates and wall plates

Display

With the initial renovation, the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center had a 35mm animation display and a 35mm full color display; they upgraded the full color display in early 2005 to a higher resolution 23mm full color video display and added a new video camera and video production equipment. The 23mm RGB video display is capable of displaying a wide range of images that include: DVDs, scoring information, and live camera feeds with or without scoring overlays. The 21-foot by 10-foot digital video display is the largest permanent video installation in an aquatic facility in the United States.

Successful Partnership

The partnership between CTS and the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center since the original renovation in the early 2000s has been successful for both, providing increased visibility for CTS and more high profile events for the Aquatic Center.