North Campus Pool Opens Doors For Free Event
The Aquatic & Fitness Center at North Campus is hosting “Free Aquatic Games” on the last Friday of every month from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. as part of an ongoing program to expand pool access.
The program allows MDC students and employees to enter the pool, free of charge, and let them engage in activities such as swimming, water polo, and water basketball. This event isn’t just meant exclusively for people who know how to swim. The “Free Aquatic Games” event also accommodates those who may not know how to swim as well.
“They think the pool is just lane lines and they think they have to swim, so for the ones who don’t know how to swim, we want to give them the opportunity to have the shallow end, you know, hanging out in the water and getting comfortable in the water,” said Noemi Zaharia, Aquatic and Fitness Center director.
The idea was hatched about one year ago.
“I always reach out to my staff, and we also kind of ask our students here in order to improve ourselves all the time,” Zaharia said. “We always ask for ideas like ‘What would you like to happen?’ and ‘What’s going on?’ I know that some of the students used to swim or play water polo and they kind of miss that, so that’s when the idea came out: ‘Why don’t we open up the pool to them once a month, and the ones who don’t have a membership can come and try it out’ because a lot of them may not know we have a pool or they don’t know how to feel about it.”
The North Campus Aquatic & Fitness Center holds a 25-yard-by-30-meter Myrtha competition pool, with the shallow end being three feet deep and the deepest point being seven feet deep.
The pool has nine swimming lanes and is certified to hold various competitions such as water polo and swimming, at the high school and collegiate levels. It currently holds 308,000 gallons of water.
“I wasn’t aware of this before, but I might just go check it out,” said Jaynell Perera, a student at North Campus.
Zaharia hopes the open-access event will help spread word about the pool.
“The goal is really to make students and employees aware that we have a pool,” Zaharia said. “Also, to open up the opportunity for people to try the water and to get comfortable in the water.”
The regular hours for the pool are Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Aquatic Center memberships for students cost $10 for one month, $30 for one semester and $60 for the year. MDC employees pay $20 for one month, $60 for one semester, and $120 for the year.
For more information on Aquatic Center events visit their page.
