When I first learned that the Ventura Aquatic Center was going to be built, I was thrilled. I enjoy lap swimming, and even though the Ventura City Council was going to have to allocate $22 million for the project, I felt there was a need for it. Demand for open swim lanes is high in Ventura, and it seems as though there are always too few to go around. This community pool seemed to be the perfect tool to alleviate pent-up demand.
When the Ventura Aquatic Center first made its long-anticipated opening, my family and I were duly impressed. It is a beautiful facility, and it was done in a first-class fashion. All was wonderful for the first few weeks. We swam on an almost nightly basis; indeed, it seemed too good to be true.
And apparently it was.
It seems that a local swim club came in and reserved almost the entire pool from the hours of 5 p.m. until, according to one of the Aquatic Center employees, “well after 7 every night.� Sure, there are about four or five lanes open to the public down at the end, but they are constantly full.
We have driven to the Aquatic Center several times now, paid for our lanes and then had to ask for refunds because there was no available space once we got out to the pool. This is during a time period that the Aquatic Center has scheduled for an open lap swim, Monday through Friday, 5 to 8 pm.
It is true that there is time available in the morning and at noon without the swim club domination of the pool. The problem is that with work and school commitments, it seems rather difficult for us — as it is with most people — to manage to utilize the pool at those times.
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At this point, we are beginning to feel like the Aquatic Center is little more than a private pool for a swim club paid for with tax dollars. Certainly the concept of an open lap swim between the hours of 5 until “after 7� five nights a week is something of a joke. If you’re lucky, you might get a lane in which to swim. In our experience, it seems more likely that you will drive home with nothing but dry hair and disappointment.
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The idea of a community aquatic center open for all was a wonderful concept, but unfortunately it’s a concept that just doesn’t seem to be holding water. In retrospect, I can think of a lot of other ways we could have spent the $22 million. Â
— Fynn Wilson, Ventura
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