EDITOR: Swimming has been a part of my life for as long as I can
remember. I learned to swim as a young child, and then at age 12 I
became a competitive swimmer with the Morgan Hill Swim Club.
EDITOR:
Swimming has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I learned to swim as a young child, and then at age 12 I became a competitive swimmer with the Morgan Hill Swim Club.
At first it was a “cool” way to spend the hot summer days, but then swimming became a larger part of my life. In high school, throughout college, and again recently I have been coaching swimming and helping countless swimmers improve their swimming abilities.
So when the idea of an Aquatics Center here started to become a reality I was extremely excited, knowing this would be perfect for our entire community.
First of all, the youth of our community deserve an aquatics facility where they can learn to swim, have a great time in a recreational pool, or improve their competitive swimming skills. Learning to swim is an important life skill and our city provides inadequate swim facilities.
The YMCA uses the aging pool at Britton for the only public learn-to-swim program in our town. This pool is only available to the public during the summer months, which means most of our population has no pool access the majority of the year. This pool is also a sad definition of a recreational pool, and many members of our community drive all the way to San Jose to find better water recreational facilities.
In addition, the swim organizations in our area often have difficulty scheduling pool time. Multiple groups, including Live Oak swimming, water polo, and diving teams, Britton water polo teams, Morgan Hill Swim Club and El Toro Swim Team, to name a few, must share the Live Oak and Britton pools.
Yes, the newly renovated pool at Live Oak is a great improvement to the previous pool situation, but it isn’t enough. The proposed aquatic facility would be ideal for hosting larger events such as CCS events, championship meets/games, and long course (50-meter) competitions.
By hosting events of this caliber, Morgan Hill has the potential for greater revenue since many of these are multi-day events, similar to the events at the soccer complex.
Not only can the new Aquatics Center appeal to youth and competitive swimmers, but it would also be beneficial for young families, adults, and seniors. I have met a number of moms who drive to Almaden with their infants and young children since there are no learn-to-swim programs offered here throughout the year. Similarly, adults also need learn-to-swim facilities year-round right here in our town.
Finally, our senior citizens should not have to drive to Gilroy or farther to find facilities for water aerobics or other rehabilitative programs. My own granny must travel all the way to Gilroy at least three times a week for her water aerobics class, which should be offered in her own backyard.
Overall, a recreational and competitive aquatics center is exactly the type of facility that will benefit every member of our community. From recreation to competition to fitness, the Morgan Hill Aquatics Center will be an outstanding addition to our wonderful city.
Jennifer Evans,
Morgan Hill
