April 1st Pooling Opening: Awesome or Absurd? | Blog

And yet “summer” at the club began over three weeks ago, when the pool opened in high style with the Blue Whale/Blue Lips Pool Party. If you haven’t yet seen the photos from the event, you must check them out on our Facebook page.

40 degrees and over 80 people in the pool.

Only in Rochester.

So, was Aquatics Director Tim Auerhahn crazy to open the pool a month earlier than he did last year?

Here’s what he had to say.

So, was it really a good idea to open the pool on on April 1^st versus May 1^st (as you did last year)? This is Rochester, after all.

Tim– Absolutely. Most people look at the chilly, rainy, windy weather that we’ve had this month and figure we’d be kicking ourselves. Quite the opposite. Opening the pool is a tough process and I actually think we had better weather in March. It was a little colder, but generally dry and we didn’t have to deal with these 40 mph gusts of wind (try getting a pool cover off on days like we had last week).

Smile at someone on our maintenance team. They deserve it, after spending last week working outside every day preparing the clay courts for today’s opening, and the weather made it a miserable process. Maybe next year they’ll get the hint and open up the clay courts on April 1^st.

Has the cost of opening the pool in April been astronomical?

Tim– Astronomical? No. You’d be surprised if you went over our numbers, which we watch VERY closely. The two big expenses (gas and guards) have not been all that expensive. We’ve metered the gas line right before the pool heater and can tell you to the penny what we’ve paid this season. With our energy-efficient heater, we’re certainly not breaking the bank.

The second biggest expense is our personnel. We’ve tried to have the pool open during peak lap swimming hours to get the biggest bang for our buck. No, the hours don’t fit into everyone’s schedule, but they do please 95% of our most active swimmers.

Who’s Swimming in April?

Tim– The regulars are back, and they’re here 4-to-5 times a week, on average. We’ve seen some new faces who are quickly turning into regulars. Triathletes are everywhere this year. It’s tough to find an unused lane on Monday nights when the Tri-Stax class is running. I think that’s a great thing.

In two years “circle swimming” at Midtown has not caught on. I think it will this year. If you’re apprehensive about sharing your lane, you’ll learn to like it quickly. It makes for a great community feel.

What’s next for the pool?

Tim- BIG events. We’re trying to make the Midtown Sprint Tri into a party atmosphere (which justifies our decision to purchase a keg for a 10:00am event). Lots of classes like Tri-Stax and the Total Immersion clinics are “funnel” events to encourage further participation.

My goal? To have members using the pool 3x a week on average. This doesn’t yet happen with our “lounge chair” population, who prefer to come only come on nice days. I would love to see more members engaged in our programming, which will lead to greater pool usage.

Have you been using the pool this month?

Comments: (4)

1 COMMENT FROM Jay April 25, 2011 at 8:18 am

Crazy to open in April….no wonder why people get sick.

2 COMMENT FROM Kristi April 26, 2011 at 5:55 pm

Jay-Have you been in the pool? It’s a beautiful and warm 82 degrees. Give it a try!

3 COMMENT FROM Leslie April 28, 2011 at 1:47 pm

Hey- I have been in the pool almost every day since it opened. Never felt better! Not sick one day and I arrive at work awake and pumped.
Lets go for MARCH 1 next year (kidding).
(Swam right up until Oct. 31 last year as well………not so much as a cold all season!).

4 COMMENT FROM Kristi April 29, 2011 at 7:59 am

Glad to hear it Leslie! Maybe we should keep the pool open all year.