Texas Ford Aquatics, a large club located in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas, has returned to full training amid the state’s easing of restrictions on pools and other businesses. On Tuesday, we reported that another large club in Texas, Nitro Swimming, has also returned to the water.
Texas Ford Aquatics has 952 current swimmers registered with USA Swimming, and additionally their Masters and SwimAmerica (lessons) programs are also back in the water training.
While most clubs have returned with 2 swimmers-per-lane (one at each end), Texas Ford has opted for 4 swimmers-per-lane, with 2 starting from each end of the pool. As part of its protocols, there is a 30 minute gap between groups to clear and sanitize the facility.
Texas Ford Aquatics Safety protocols:
- Temperatures of all athletes and staff are taken before entry
- Separate entrances and exits are being used to limit congestion in doorways
- Locker rooms, the pool lobby, and sidewalks surrounding the building are all closed.
- No more than 2 swimmers per lane, 2 from each end of the pool
- 30 minute gap between groups to clear and sanitize the facility.
Patrick Kennedy, a senior coach with the club, says that they’ve seen almost 100% of their upper level groups return to training, and that at the developmental level around 70% of their membership is back in the water.
Kennedy says that the program began operating on May 8th at 5% capacity, and that they’re currently operating at 16% capacity. The club plans to move to 25% capacity as time goes on, which is almost to the 35% normal operating capacity during pre-coronavirus times.
Texas Ford Aquatics operates out of 3 facilities, including its club-owned 50 meter pool that opened in 2014.
Texas governor Greg Abbott allowed pools in the state to reopen at 25% capacity on May 8, among several other restriction-easing moves amid the global coronavirus pandemic. Since Texas began easing restrictions, the state has seen a rise in new positive tests for coronavirus infections, which has not been the case in many other states that have begun to reopen.
Frisco is located in Denton County and Collin County in Texas, which have combined had 2,191 positive coronavirus tests and 59 deaths attributed to COVID-19 among a population of almost 2 million. Those two counties remain in the “low rate of change” category by the New York Times standard (meaning that the number of new cases are trending to double less often than every 30 days), while neighboring and more urban Dallas is seeing a higher rate of spread.
Gov Abbott pretty much said staring in June all youth athletics and camps are open. Paraphrasing – Kids don’t get sick. Just keep them away from old farts after the have been out.
Texas knows it’s time to get back to work.
And the new phrase of the day from the overreacting illogicals…. CONTACT TRACING!
I wish we could ask those 91,000 unfortunate if we are overracting.
Good! That’s the way to do it. I was in favor of 5 swimmers per lane, but 4 is OK. Everything should be based on a person’s choice of whether to participate or not…swim practice, going to a packed restaurant, skydiving, etc. Authorities shouldn’t be telling people, business owners, colleges, swim club, etc. what they can and cannot do in this situation.
Leaving it up to an individuals choice would be fine if only the individual was affected by the consequences.
Nobody has to go to practice. What part about that don’t you understand? Nobody has to go to restaurants, see their grandkids, etc. that’s what individual choice means. We assess the risk for our own situation. Swimming a 1650 all out in a race would be risky behavior for some, they shouldn’t do it if so.
>We assess the risk for our own situation.
I try really really hard not to reply to your posts because you are not a reasonable person. But I cannot let this one go… When you go to a bar on Saturday and you get infected, IT IS NOT YOUR INDIVIDUAL CHOICE, because you will come to office on Monday and infect 2-3 people and one of them will die. Please stop posting garbage – some younger people may follow your example and get hurt or hurt others.
2-3 people? So we are up to 33% to 50% mortality rate?
Constitutions are written to prevent governments from arbitrarily interfering in citizens’ lives and businesses.
Is that an unreasonable statement?
You better hope the person in your lane isn’t sick since there are two on each side
But If they’re socially distanced when they stop, why would they be any more likely to spread in the pool than people spreading at Costco?
Two people side by side on the wall can not social distance 6ft. I’m all for the pools opening but with socially distancing at the walls.
A few clubs running 4 per lane aren’t having kids on the wall. Two “floaters” stop out a few yards away from the wall and tread water.
Living in a state where the reopening of pools is still a distant dream, it’s tough to watch other people return to training while we can not. However, I hope people don’t dismiss safety precautions too soon and as a result we see a spike in cases….
as much as I hate to say it, this protracted delay in restarting is having a major impact on overall LSC/USAS athlete membership – gonna take a long time to get back to 2019 membership levels. Destroying a truly great organizations day by day….
Time to vote in record numbers in November. Consider wisely who you choose. People part of the machinery or independent thinkers? That’s the only way to have a say going forward.
Or people — 130,000 by November — dead.
Give it a rest already. Tell me how closing swim pools helped save any lives in areas without subway stations, in nursing homes, etc. was taking extraordinary precautions necessary? Yes, but we’ve known for 3-4 weeks already how bad the initial models were.
^talk about people who need to give it a rest…
Remember he apparently works in a hospital and can speak with authority on these matters.
Are you a data scientist too?
Actually yes. Funded by NIH for 30 years. How ’bout you stall-boy?
Is the U Texas pool open?
As far as I know, no university pools are open yet. In Texas, no high school pools are open either. This is making it tough for clubs that don’t operate their own pool.
I heard something about the A&M Rec center opening up, but I don’t know if that includes the pool
The pool is open. Swimmers have to reserve a time/ lane. No organized practice yet.