After years of waiting, April 11 finally arrived. Despite the overcast day, families were everywhere, and everyone was eager to use the long awaited new Piedmont pool.
For water polo players and swimmers, the return of the pool addresses one of the biggest challenges they have faced. Girls water polo player junior Rachel Luskin said traveling to off-campus facilities has made it difficult to build and sustain the program.
“It’s been hard to get people to join because everything is so far away,” Luskin said. “I think having a pool here will entice more people to join.”
Luskin said the girls team struggled with low numbers this year, a challenge she believes is directly tied to the distance and added time commitment required to go to far away practices and games.
“The pool has definitely helped,” Luskin said. “Already people are more excited about it.”
That time commitment has also affected how students balance athletics with academics. Boys water polo player freshman Ben Kappes said the commute to practices, which often exceeded 40 minutes, made the sport more demanding than he thought it would be.
“It’s going to be huge for us,” Kappes said. “Having practices and games at our own pool will make a big difference.”
Kappes said traveling to practices this season was a big time commitment and made it harder to keep up with schoolwork.
“Especially for upperclassmen with harder classes, it just made everything more difficult to balance,” Kappes said.
Kappes also said that having home games would increase exposure of the boys water polo team in the Piedmont community.
“I think it will make a big difference having our own students at games. It will bring an energy that we really haven’t been able to have,” Kappes said.
The impact extends beyond athletes. Students who do not participate in water sports, like sophomore Lucas Bekele already have plans to use the pool regularly now that it’s open.
“I haven’t really had access to a pool like this in the community since I was in elementary school,” Bekele said. “I’m planning to go a lot this spring and summer.”
The opening of the pool is also creating new opportunities for student employment. Junior Bailey Genteman, who works as a lifeguard at the pool, said that the pool has given job opportunities to students who would have a hard time getting a job that is far away.
“Especially for students who don’t have their [drivers] license, it’s giving them a chance to have a job that they can get to easily,” Genteman said.
Beyond student employment, junior Colin Amen said that the pool presents opportunities for families in the greater piedmont community.
“I was there the day the pool opened and despite the fact that it was a rainy day, there were still lots of families there. I think that shows how excited people were to use it and how much of an impact it’s going to have, especially for families with young kids,” Amen said.
At the same time, questions remain about how the space will be used for school events beyond athletics. Junior Colin Amen, who has wanted to organize an ASB event at the pool, was told it would not be possible.
“I’ve always wanted to have a pool party for my grade at the pool. I remember we had one in elementary school and it was a lot of fun,” Amen said. “But when I emailed, they said they couldn’t accommodate something like that.”
Amen said he did not receive a reason for the decision but still has high hopes for the pool’s impact on the community as a whole
“I’m hopeful that the pool will continue to be a place where people can gather, have a good time, and create memories,” Amen said.
