Reinstate 50 meters on Sunday at Wilson Pool

Background information

BAD NEWS!

After saying they would reverse the diving/25 y decision, DPR is now reversing their reversal. Basically they are saying that they want to collect data on the numbers of divers and their preferences (i.e., would they dive at Takoma Park or on Tuesdays and Wednesdays). With that information I said we would be moving ahead with the petition to show overwhelming support for 50 m. They said that would help our case.

A key issue to advance the cause is that petition signers should contact the Head of DPR Aquatics (Tyrell Lashley) to express their preference for 50 m.. He can be emailed at tyrell.lashley@dc.gov and phoned at (202) 671-0396.

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This is the start of the preamble

The Wilson Aquatic Center is DC’s first state-of-the art indoor aquatic facility. It was built with DC taxpayers’ dollars for use by all residents of the District of Columbia. Maintained by DC’s Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), its unique, stellar 50-meter pool is used and enjoyed by people of all ages from all over the city, as well as swimmers within the Washington metropolitan area. Non-residents who use the pool must pay a fee, which is revenue for the facility.



Wilson is a pool for the entire city, not for a few who live nearby and want to control its usage without consideration of the rest of the swimmers who come from throughout DC. It's a unique aquatic facility for all DC residents. Swimmers of wide-ranging ability swim its 50 meters, which is divided into slow, medium and fast lanes, in addition to a leisure lane for water-walking and other exercise.

With that background it is distressing to many Wilson swimmers that DPR recently decided to implement a 25 yard configuration on Sundays so that people can jump off the diving boards. This decision is problematic in two respects.

• First, the balance of time between 50 meters and 25 yards has been a contentious and actively negotiated issue at Wilson. Simply increasing the amount of time for 25 yards by 50%, while decreasing 50 meters, is completely wrong and unjustified.

• Secondly, it needs to be recognized that more than 400 swimmers would come to Wilson on a Sunday to swim the 50 meters. Now they can’t do it all because a very small number of kids are utilizing the opportunity to jump off the diving boards.

The fact is that very few people are chosing to use the diving boards on Sunday which makes the new arrangement even more questionable. For such a small group of people the diving time could easily be configured at the Takoma Park pool which is what DPR should focus on.

The most important point is that there are other options for diving that don’t require a 25 yard configuration at Wilson on Sundays.