Tag: midtown-pool

April has featured less-than-ideal weather conditions. It’s been cold. It’s been rainy. And windy. It’s even snowed a few times.

In other words, it’s been a typical Rochester April.

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.MORE

Our fair club is full of quick studies, so plenty of you were buzzing this week about whether the Blue Whale/Blue Lips pool party planned for next Friday, April 1st, April Fool’s Day, was, well, a joke.

You called the front desk. You posted questions on our Facebook wall. You asked associates and fellow members.

The final word from Glenn?

The Party is On!

It might be snowing (although I certainly hope not).

We may have to borrow attire from the Aquatics Team to stay dry.

But there will be an awesome party on the pool deck, in the Adirondack Lodge where the fire will be roaring, and of course, in the 80-degree pool itself next Friday, from 6-7:30pm. 

Need a little incentive to jump in, other than to claim bragging rights with your friends that you went swimming, outdoors, in Rochester, on April 1st?

I’ve got the just-released raffle prize list. Jump in during one (or all!) of these scheduled times, and you can win a great prize

Morning (6:30am-9:30am)

Everyone who gets in will receive a black Midtown t-shirt and Midtown sunglasses

The following will be raffled off:

• $50 gift card to Henry B’s
• $20 gift card to Black & Blue
• $20 gift card to out.fit

Afternoon (11:00am-1:00pm)

Everyone who gets in will receive a black Midtown t-shirt and Midtown sunglasses

The following will be raffled off:

• $50 gift card to Henry B’s
• $20 gift card to Black & Blue
• $20 gift card to out.fit

Evening Party (6pm-7:30pm)

Everyone who gets in will receive a black Midtown t-shirt and Midtown sunglasses

The following will be raffled off:

• One free month of individual dues
• $50 gift card to Henry B’s
• $20 gift card to Black & Blue
• (2) $20 gift card to out.fit

Also at the evening party, someone who jumps in the pool will win the Grand Prize:

A Two-Night Stay at the Del Monte Lodge.

Non-member guests are more than welcome at the party. In fact, if you bring a guest, you’ll receive an extra entry into the Grand Prize drawing.

And if you post a message on our Facebook wall telling us you’re attending the Blue Whale/Blue Lips Splash Party, you’ll receive another entry!

Kids are welcome, but it will be more of a party atmosphere. The club will provide pizza, light appetizers, water, beer, wine, and the signature drink, a Blue Whale.

You must RSVP soon, so do so on our Facebook Events page or at the front desk.

Are you jumping in next Friday?

If history is a good indicator, April 1st in Rochester will be chilly.

The average high temperature for an April day in our fair city is around 55 degrees. The average low is 35 degrees.

But the water in the Midtown pool will be a warm and inviting 80 degrees, and the energy on the pool deck will be even hotter because there’s an awesome party planned for opening day.

First, a little perspective. I know of no other outdoor pool in the area that’s ever opened for the season this early in the year.

This makes the fact that our pool is opening pretty incredible.

Aquatics Director Tim Auerhahn is working tirelessly to get the pool ready for the big day. In fact, he’s chronicling his efforts every few days on our Facebook page.

On April 1st, there might be snow on the ground and icicles hanging from the roof of the Adirondack Lodge.

But the pool will be open for swimming regardless, and of course, there’s going to be a  party to celebrate.

Free for members and guests, the big party to kick off the swimming season will feature a signature drink – the Blue Whale, of course – beer, wine, and light appetizers.

Everyone that’s brave enough to get in the water is entered into a drawing to win the Grand Prize:  a two-night stay at the Del Monte Lodge.   

Other great prizes will be raffled off as well.

Non-member guests are more than welcome at the party. In fact, if you bring a guest, you’ll receive an extra entry into the Grand Prize drawing.

And if you post a message on our Facebook wall telling us you’re attending the Blue Whale/Blue Lips Splash Party, you’ll receive another entry!

On April 1st, it may not look like this

But the warmer weather is coming soon, and I can’t wait to spend the summer by the pool.

Are you coming to the party?

Yesterday, one of the club’s loyal lap swimmers posted to our Facebook page with a question about the pool opening.

I went right to the man in charge, Aquatics Director, Tim Auerhahn, to get the inside scoop on what we can expect.

Here’s what he had to say about what he and his staff are working on as they ready the beauty in the back of the club for swimmers.

Right now we’re patiently waiting for a little more ice to melt off of the cover so we can really begin to fill, heat, treat, and chemically balance the water (a process that can take two weeks). As of right now, we’re still anticipating opening on schedule.

Our hours of operation will be as follows: 

Effective April 1st

Morning Lap Swim, Monday-Friday, 6:30am-9:30am

Afternoon Lap Swim, Monday-Friday, 11:00am-1:00pm

Evening Lap Swim, Monday-Thursday, 5:00pm-7:00pm

Weekend Open Swim, Saturday and Sunday, 10:00am-2:00pm

Thanks, Tim!

Tim had a great idea to write daily updates on the opening of the pool to give members an insider’s perspective on what it takes to get a pool the size of the one at the club ready for the season. If you’ve “Liked” our Facebook page, you will receive these updates as Notes in your News Feed. If you haven’t “Liked” the club’s page yet, now is the perfect time.

For a look back on the day the pool covers came off in 2010, check out this post.

Will you be jumping in the pool on April 1st?

Remember this?

Yeah. Me either.

Winters in Rochester can seem endless. The good news, though, is that beauty up there is opening up again in four short months.

And the club is hard at work using the off-season to make next year’s pool season the best one yet.

When the pool closed at the end of October, Tim Auerhahn, Aquatics Director, hosted a “Lap Swimmers’ Breakfast” to solicit feedback from the 2010 pool season. Tim said he received some great ideas, which he plans on discussing with others at the club over the next four months.

 Here are a few of his favorite member suggestions to improve swimming at the club:

• Get a covered area by the hot tub for towels in the winter.
• Add electrical outlets around the pool deck for sun bathers with electronic devices.
• Have the lifeguards do more “foot patrols.”
• Install air conditioning in the poolside bathrooms and clean them more regularly.
• Play more fun pool music, and less country!
• Have Dive-In Movies for adults.
• Run free clinics for flip turns and stroke techniques

Do you have any suggestions for improving the pool or outdoor facilities? Share them here, or email them to tim.auerhahn@midtown.com.

Read any article about weight-loss tips or healthy living and you will undoubtedly find a line in it that knocks the so-called “fancy gym.”

It might say something like:

“You don’t need a fancy gym membership to get in shape.”

Or

“Fancy gym memberships won’t take off the pounds.”

Or

“Who needs to go to a fancy gym when staying active is as simple as lacing up your sneakers and hitting the road. ”

These statements are true, to a certain degree. No one needs the new iPhone, the NFL Sunday Ticket, the state-of-the-art laptop, or the leather sectional when the wool one was just fine. These upgrades might make your life more fun or more comfortable, but these are wants, not needs (although my husband might beg to differ about the NFL Sunday Ticket).

But where emotional and physical well-being are concerned, I have absolutely no problem with admitting that I am deeply in love with my “fancy gym.”

Here’s why.

I have belonged to and visited other gyms. And while the experiences haven’t been terrible, these other establishments do not hold a candle to the environment, support, and facilities of Midtown. It’s the atmosphere of Midtown that has made it so much easier to attain my fitness goals.

At Midtown, if I have a question about how to work a machine, I can find a fitness attendant or personal trainer within seconds who is willing to drop everything to help me. They are highly visible. They are incredibly knowledgeable. And they have never, ever made me feel like my question was unimportant or silly, even when my question was, “Um, how do you start this Arc Trainer?” and the answer was, “See this large, green QuickStart button? Press it.”

At Midtown, I can work out, have lunch, take a tennis lesson, attend a yoga class, and get a massage, all without ever leaving the grounds. And on my way out, I can skip the Starbucks run by grabbing an iced coffee in the cafe. Considering my schedule is anything but flexible, having everything under one roof is very convenient.

At Midtown, my children are able to enjoy 4,000 square feet of Pure Kiddie Heaven in Kidtown, where they are enthusiastically greeted by name every time we arrive by the friendly, energetic, warm, and helpful associates who work there. My 21-month-old twins love the people who work in Kidtown so much that they yell the name of their favorite staff member the minute I push them through the door in the stroller. Where once they clung to me and cried, they now practically trip over their own feet to rush into the play area, leaving me in their Cheerio-laden dust. They love being there because the staff members take the time to make each experience a joy for them. And this makes my workouts all the more productive because I do not have to worry about them for one second.

At Midtown, the staff I’ve met ask me about my training. They’ve offered me tips to improve. They are genuinely interested in me and my progress. And the staff members I do not know personally are always supremely friendly and accommodating. Encouragement means everything when you’re training for a solo-sport event, like a marathon or half-marathon.

At Midtown, the facilities are always clean. There are towels on the racks at all times, the rugs and floors are grime-free,  and the locker rooms and bathrooms are spotless, even during high-volume times. The club does not have the funky gym smell I immediately noticed in other clubs. Working out in a clean club makes a difference. It helps me enjoy my time there, and it encourages me to stay longer.

At Midtown, I have never had to wait for a treadmill. I’ve only ever had one instance where a machine wasn’t working. The treadmills and ellipticals are replaced every year, even if they’re in perfect working order, to ensure the best experience for the members using them.

At Midtown, the pool is an oasis, especially in the hot summer we’re experiencing in Rochester. I don’t belong to a country club, but I’d imagine the atmosphere is similar to the one in the outdoor pool area, minus the pretension.

I’m always with at least one of my young children, but that doesn’t stop me from looking longingly at the people reading on lounge chairs, or enjoying a glass of wine with friends under the umbrellas, and thinking, “Someday, that will be me. It may be 18 years from now, but one day, that will be me!”

At Midtown, the opportunities to make new friends and business contacts abound. From tennis socials to Sunshine Yoga on the Great Lawn to PowerNet meetings, for me, belonging to Midtown has been about gaining a new community of like-minded individuals. And it’s a community to which I feel lucky to belong.

And this is why you’ll never find me knocking my “fancy gym.”

How does your membership make a difference to your fitness goals?