Storied Lakeside Swim Club In Louisville, Kentucky Staying Dry This Summer

One of the most unique outdoor pools in the United States will not be opening this summer as Lousiville, Kentucky‘s Lakeside Swim Club will remain dry.

Home of past Olympians Mary T. Meagher, Caroline Burckle, Clark Burckle, and others, Lakeside Swim Club grounds span 3 acres and is enclosed on two sides by 40-foot cliffs. ‘The Lake’ is a chemically-treated quarry competition pool complete with lane lines and black lines on the bottom, while also containing a connected leisure area perfect for floating and playing.

The approximate 3.2 million gallons of water needed for the pool is filled and drained each spring and fall. However, club members were told this year that preparing the quarry lake for swimming in 2020 ‘is not feasible due to the significant financial investment and the uncertainty of how much use it will get over the course of the season.’

“It has been difficult to think of not seeing everyone this summer, not watching children play, not having families gather, not seeing the Big Splash contest and missing all those many memories that have been created at the club,” reads the letter from the Lakeside Board of Directors and Management staff to the private club’s more than 9,000 members.

“Our primary concern is to balance our mission as a swim club with our responsibility to keep our members and staff safe and healthy,” said Mary Graves, general manager of Lakeside. “During these unpredicted times, we are doing everything we possibly can to find that balance for this season and beyond.”

In terms of what the pool closure means for the storied USA Swimming Club of the Lakeside Seahawks, Head Coach Mike Deboor told The Courier Journal that he’s hopeful his swimmers can shift from traditional summer training there to their winter home at Louisville’s Mary T. Meagher Aquatics Center. That’s where they train September through May.

“We imagine it will only be two swimmers per lane, that means as a team we’ll utilize the pool for a longer period each day in order to get all the swimmers through their workouts,” he said. “We’ll be doing temperature checks on each swimmer as they enter the pool and all other measures advised by the CDC. Training is going to look a lot different this summer.”

We reported that the state of Kentucky’s pools are able to open as of June 1st. At the time of publishing, the state of Kentucky reports having 8,167 positive coronavirus cases resulting in 376 deaths.

UPDATED LIST OF POOL REOPENINGS

• Alabama – 50% capacity (May 11)
• Alaska – 50% capacity
• Arizona – 50% capacity (May 15)
• Arkansas – 50% capacity (May 22)
• California – No counties have been cleared for reopening pools by the state, though several teams have resumed practice anyway.
• Delaware – Community Pools at 20% capacity, no swim lessons or team practices (May 22)
• Florida – some localities have allowed pools to begin to reopen under a patchwork of restrictions
• Indiana – Adhering to Social Distancing Guidelines (May 24)
• Georgia – 10 or fewer people, or 6 feet of space per person (May 14)
• Kentucky – Pools designated for training or exercise can reopen (June 1)
• Louisiana– Lap Swimming can resume at 25% capacity
• Massachussetts – Outdoor pools Can Reopen in Phase 2 (as early as June 8), Indoor pools can reopen in Phase 3 (as early as late June)
• Mississippi – six feet apart
• North Carolina – 50% capacity (May 22)
• Ohio – CDC Guidelines (May 26)
• South Carolina – Smaller of 20%/5 people per 1000 square feet (May 18)
• Texas – 25% capacity
• Virginia – Outdoor lap Swimming only, 1-per-lane (May 15)
• Wyoming – 1 person per lane