Swimming advocates in the Waco area hope a $40,000 feasibility study McLennan County commissioners will review Tuesday could lead to a new regional swim center.
Officials with the Greater Waco Sports Commission, which paid for the study, said it shows that Waco is short on aquatic facilities, and a new swimming facility could increase participation and economic benefits.
“The impact would be extremely significant,” said Mike Vogelaar, the commission’s executive director. “Not only for the types of events that it could help bring in that then help fill in the hotels, fill in the restaurants, and put Waco on the map – but then for local residents. It provides them a great option to be able to do the aquatics.”
Key details about the potential center, including proposed cost, location and design, have not been made public. It is not yet clear who might own or operate the center.
The consulting firm Counsilman-Hunsaker will present its findings Tuesday at the McLennan County Commissioners Court meeting at the county courthouse. The findings include the firm’s recommendation for the community, pool size options and estimated costs. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. and is streamed online.
The firm talked to local swim experts and aquatic facilities operators to explore the type of facilities and amenities to bring to Waco.
In a county of some 270,000 people, the main indoor aquatic facility open to the public is the Greater Waco YMCA, which has a junior Olympic-size lap pool with 10 lanes 25 yards long, along with an outdoor recreation pool and an indoor therapy pool.
Vogelaar said the demands on the YMCA pool can cause congestion.
When Midway ISD’s swimming team practices at the YMCA from 7 to 8:30 a.m. daily on weekdays, the students take over seven lanes, leaving only three lanes open for other swimmers, said Midway ISD swim coach Dan Marlin.
He said the YMCA has been a good practice facility for Midway students, but its limited space is a challenge when the district holds swim meets. He said the decks can become crowded as 200 to 250 students gather for the meets.
Midway ISD has the only water polo team in the Waco area, and it has to travel to Round Rock to compete.
“There’s just a general lack of water in Waco, and that’s something that should be changed, or needs to change,” Marlin said.
Other nearby districts have had swimming teams in the past. However, interest varies over the years. Robinson ISD has a developing swim team and Lorena ISD had a swim team in previous years, Marlin said.
“It’s disappointing that a city and community as large as Waco doesn’t have more pools, more access to water for people,” Marlin said.
The lack of facilities limits opportunities for children to learn to swim and to later join swim teams, Marlin said. A new pool could encourage more schools to start teams, and he would like Midway to host an invitational.
Sigma Swimming, which has locations in Fort Worth, Dallas and Waco, rents five lanes for 2 ½ hours per day at the YMCA for its competitive swimmers. About 70 swimmers practice at one time at the facility.
For competitive swimmers, the size of the pool puts them at a slight disadvantage, said Tiffany Freeman, Sigma’s head coach for Waco. A new swimming facility with an Olympic-sized pool featuring 50-meter lanes could help swimmers train for competitions, she said.
“It would just give our kids a chance to compete,” Freeman said. “It would level the playing field for them a little. We’ve got great kids. We’ve had national swimmers, we’ve had an Olympic trial swimmer in Waco, and they all came just with the dedication and their willingness to work hard because of the facilities that they’ve been given and the YMCA.
“We are very, very thankful that we get to swim there, but it would be nice to have, you know, the same type of facilities that other swimmers get.”
Officials at the Greater Waco YMCA declined comment for this story.
