Joe Fletcher
Equinox Staff
Notice any heavy machinery when walking behind the Spaulding Gymnasium?
The swimming pool is getting renovated– well, not the swimming pool itself. Athletic Director Phil Racicot says the building is getting some much-needed infrastructure renovation.
“This is not directly related to the pool itself but it’s more of a structural project for the building,” Racicot said.
Swimming head coach Christopher Woolridge says a lot is going in to update the pool area and provide a top-notch facility.
“We’re getting a new roof, updating the air handling, which is really important for the pool, and then a little bit of cosmetic work after the roof,” Woolridge said. “A paint job, some new lighting, and we’re going to move stuff around and get rid of some of the outdated equipment to clean up the whole look of the pool.”
Ever wonder how to get a swimming team excited? Fixing up the ventilation system in the pool will do the trick. Junior Quint Kimmel says this renovation is something the whole team is excited for and can’t wait to use.
“I think we’re all stoked,” Kimmel said. “The big upside to the renovation will be a new ventilation system which is going to do wonders for our pool.”
The construction has been a long time coming. This was planned in 2018, and now is finally being executed. The plan was originally to start construction last year, but COVID caused financial restrictions for the school where they were unable to go forth with the project.
“Unfortunately we weren’t able to do it last year with a lot of financial restrictions in place and all of those assets we use for expenditures were frozen,” Racicot said. “Same thing happened with the turf project in a lot of ways.”
The completion of this project will bring a lot of ease for the coaches and staff of the team. Being able to maintain the pool area will be a lot more manageable.
“It will just make the environment of the pool better. With the air handling we’ll be able to control the humidity, the temperature a little bit better,” Woolridge said. “I think it will just make it a little more comfortable on a day-to-day basis.”
Re-updating the facilities will be nice for the swimmers as well. Coach Woolridge thinks it will help give the team the boost they need to work hard and excel at their craft.
“The pool will look better, they’re gonna be in there and it will be brighter, it will be cleaner and they (swim team) spend a lot of time in there,” Woolridge said. “I think just being able to enjoy some nicer digs will be good.”
And as for the swimmers, they are more motivated than ever to practice and get better with these new amenities.
“It’ll bring morale up for sure,” Kimmel said. “I think it’s a given with the ventilation improvement that we’ll be able to train more efficiently.”
Joe Fletcher can be contacted at:
jfletcher@kscequinox.com
