June 2, 2005

By Diane Chiddister

It’s June, and in Yellow Springs, summer will unofficially begin with a splash this weekend with the opening of the Gaunt Park Pool.

As the air turns warmer and the sun brighter, villagers young and old will be lured to the pool, which offers a venue for adults to swim laps or laze in the sun, for teens to flirt and tan, and for toddlers to sit like small happy Buddhas in the baby pool.

The pool is “a gathering place for families,” a much-loved Village amenity that offers Yellow Springers an “array of opportunities,” said Village Manager Rob Hillard, who last week crossed the t’s and dotted the i’s necessary for the pool to open.

The pool opens this Saturday, June 4, with a lap swim for adults from noon to 1 p.m. Regular pool hours are from 1 to 7 p.m. Another hour lap swim, from 7 to 8 p.m., finishes each day. The pool is open seven days a week.

The pool will close for the season on Sunday, Aug. 21.

The pool staff offered a variety of recreational events last summer, including Friday night movies, swim lessons for children and a midnight swim on July 4. The staff and pool management will meet shortly after the pool opens to decide whether and to what extent they should continue those events, said Hillard.

He noted that while the movies proved popular at the beginning of the summer, attendance gradually declined. “We’ll evaluate what we did last year and tweak the events so they can be better,” he said.

The pool is opening a week later this year than it has in the past in order to coincide more closely with the public school schedule, Hillard said. The pool employs 13 staff members, who are mainly local young people. The pool manager this year is Jennifer Malone, Alban Holyoke is the assistant manager and Sarah Finn is the head lifeguard. Holyoke and Finn graduated from Yellow Springs High School this week.

In addition to hosting new events, last year the pool introduced new amenities, including new chairs and umbrellas and a concession stand, which will continue this year, Hillard said. Other new amenities may also be added, he said.

Pool prices rose this year, and swimmers may purchase advance season passes, before June 4, for $80 per household, $45 for adults and $35 for children. Advance passes may be purchased at the Village administrative assistant’s office on the second floor of Bryan Community Center.

After the pool opens, season passes cost $90 per household, $50 for an adult and $40 for a child. Season passes rose $5 this year.

Single swims will cost $3 for an adult and $2 for children aged 4 to 18, an increase of 50 cents over last year. Children younger than 4 will continue to be admitted at no charge.

Rates for season passes and single swims apply to all swimmers, regardless of where they reside.

People may rent the pool for $95 an hour after 8 p.m. for private parties, Hillard said. The pool is also used by the local swim team, the Sea Dogs, for both practices and home meets.

For more information about the pool, call the Village at 767-3401 through June 3, and the pool at 767-9064 after June 4.