The San Antonio Express is reporting that local officials are currently in discussion with USA Swimming to bring “three major meets” to the brand-new Northside ISD Swim Center in 2015.
The pool, which is $14 million, is just putting on the final touches to an outdoor complex that has a 50-meter pool and a 25-meter diving pool. It also has a huge spectator seating area, with shaded bleachers for 2,400.
It brought some amount of local controversy when the funding was approved, despite the pool being a fraction of what a similarly-grand facility in Houston cost a few years ago. Construction went on, though, and now the pool is preparing to host bigger meets than what was allowed at the Josh Davis Natatorium in the NEISD: the area’s prior swimming focal point (and the former stomping grounds of Olympian Jimmy Feigen when he attended Churchill High School).
Among the meets specifically named were U.S. Masters Nationals in April of 2015, with some anonymous source reporting that that could be followed by senior and junior nationals in August, with announcements expected to come in two weeks if the final details on all three meets can be worked out.
Though the days of an outdoor Olympic Trials are likely past, USA Swimming has still shown a willingness to host other national-level meets outside, including a large portion of the Grand Prix series. This year’s Junior National and U.S. Open Championships were hosted at the William Woolett Aquatics Center in Irvine, California, and notably San Antonio’s new pool has both a bigger capacity and covered seating for spectator comfort.
August has the potential to be a very wet month in San Antonio, but rainfall is generally limited to about 1.5-2.5 inches over the entire month, with April having very similar numbers.
Is this really the best competitive environment for our athletes or is this payback for not getting Trials? 100+ degrees in humid San Antonio has to be a SAFETY ISSUE. While some athletes can sit inside (does the inside seat 1500+ swimmers and coaches???), how are we going to protect our officials and meet volunteers from the sun and heat?
The facility has air conditioned areas under the stands for the officials and the indoor 50 m has seating for 800 and 25 feet of deck space around the pool! So, yes there is! The average temp in August is 95 with relatively low humility.
How about Carmel Indiana with the 50m indoor and an outstanding State Totle record?
Irvine HS is independent from the William Woolett Aquatic Center. It’s just next door.
Perhaps this opens a discussion: which HS/school district pools are among best in the nation, able to host top-level events? Votes or comments?
Among the contenders:
Northside ISD (San Antonio)
Rockwall ISD (Texas)
Conroe ISD (Texas)
Franklin Schools (Indiana)
Crawfordsville (Indiana)
The Baylor School (Tennessee)
Jenks High School (Oklahoma)
I’m sure I’m leaving out a few.
You gotta have Irvine HS is this discussion. Two 50 meter pools is hard to compete with. Also, I remember Clovis HS having a nice facility as well, but they didn’t have two 50 meter pools.
Bolles has a great pools a 50Mx25yd, another 25 yard pool that can be configured to have four 25M lanes (just be careful with practicing starts because the bottom comes up quick).
Does Bolles have enough seating to host big national level meets?? (Not that you really need that much, based on what we’ve seen recently).
C.T. Branin Natatorium in Ohio probably could. It’s got a bit of a funny configuration, but has hosted DII and DIII NCAA’s in the last few years.
Yes C.T. Brainin has hosted some fast swimming. It does have a strange configuration, but short course is great. The crowd is basically on top of you and it is loud!! It is a fun place to swim!!
Crawfordsville and Franklin have nice facilities, but in no way have the seating capacity, deck space or hotel accommodations to host such a meet. Crawfordsville has done a nice job with Sectionals and Senior State and Franklin does a nice job with the Hall of Fame meet. I have had the fortune to watch my children swim in these pools, as well as the other 50 meter pools in Indiana. Indiana is very fortunate to have many amazing on campus 50 m facilities such as, Munster, Castle, North Central, Carmel and Fishers. All very nice, but none of which hold a candle to the NISD aquatics center.
Additionally there is an indoor 50m x 25 yard pool on the same property adjacent to the diving well with seating for 800! I will post the updated picture later today.