Newport Beach : Proposed Aquatic Center Receives Olympic Funds

The proposed Newport Aquatic Center was awarded $115,000 Monday from the 1984 Olympic surplus account by the board of the Amateur Athletic Foundation for youth sports in Southern California, bringing to $9 million the total grants made by the foundation so far.

The grant to the Newport Beach center was the largest single award of $676,533 in funds approved Monday by the foundation’s 17-member board.

The aquatic center, a training facility for canoeing, kayaking and rowing, is to be built along Upper Newport Bay near North Star Beach. The grant is expected to pay for equipment and additional staffing for a junior training program, open to youngsters from ages 9 to 18.

“We’re very happy,” said Bill Whitford, a member of the center’s board of directors. “I think it falls in line for what their funds are for. . . . It is going to be a big lift.”

Amateur athletes from all over the nation who come to the West Coast to train during the winter will benefit from the new equipment, Whitford said. Public instruction classes also are planned.

The boathouse, restroom and boat access ramp will be completed by next fall, he said. So far, $400,000 for construction costs has been raised from private and corporate donations.

Among the other groups that will receive grants from the foundation is the American Amateur Karate Federation, which was given $15,400 for equipment and instruction at eight clubs in Southern California, including one in El Toro.

Under the operating concepts of the foundation, most of the grants come from the interest income on the Southern California share of the $230-million Olympic surplus. At present, foundation president Stanton Wheeler said, there is about $92 million in its accounts.