The University of New Hampshire pool has remained closed since March, and it could stay that way for quite some time.
In a video conference call on Tuesday morning, school president James W. Dean said that if the team doesn’t compete this season, it’s “unlikely” Swasey Pool will be filled for use.
“We don’t have a final decision on that,” said Dean when asked about the situation. “One of the things that is in play right now is whether our swimming team will be able to compete in this season. If the swimming team is able to compete then we’ll do that, if they don’t compete it’s unlikely that we’ll fill the pool.”
UNH’s unwillingness to open the pool has disgruntled several members of the swimming & diving team, particularly because they are now the only Wildcat program with nowhere to train.
“For me, the biggest issue is that we are now the only team in the athletic department without a facility to train in,” a member of the women’s team told SwimSwam. “It doesn’t matter that we may not have a season, we still have the right to be training in a proper facility.”
“This would be like telling the hockey teams to put on their skates and practice, but not on ice, on the arena floor,” one swim team parent said. “Whether America East competes this year or not, the UNH Swim and Dive Team deserves to be treated as equals.”
The swimming & diving team has won eight America East Conference titles, more than any other women’s program at UNH, including claiming the 2020 crown in February.
Members of the team came to campus thinking they would have a training facility available to them. If they had know this would be the situation, they could’ve stayed home.
“Many girls on the team have opportunities to train at home, and wouldn’t have come if they knew the pool wasn’t going to be filled for this long,” the swimmer said. “All of the other teams do not know if they will have a season either, but yet they all have their facilities to train in. So why is the swim and dive team left out of being able to train?”
Prior to the president indicating that the pool opening hinges on competition taking place, team members were left in the dark on the reasoning why they weren’t able to train.
“Basically, the swim team has been told numerous times that the decision to fill the pool is up to President Dean and upper UNH administrators. The UNH pool is run by Campus Rec, not the athletic department. Therefore, there is this miscommunication between the athletic department, campus rec, and UNH admin.
“The team had also been told that because there isn’t a final decision made about having a swim season, so there isn’t an immediate need to fill the pool. We were told that the pool was going to be filled by the middle of September because they were still doing repairs when school started. Every time someone asks for answers, we are told to be patient and that it is not going to happen overnight.”
Beyond training, the mental health of the members of the swim team was something that concerned those affected by the decision.
“This issue has deeply affect the teams physical and emotional well-being,” the swimmer said. “Everyone is extremely stressed and anxious because we have not been able to train properly. We are used to being able to swim every single day in a pool. And many of us use the pool as a resource for our mental health. Taking away the pool has only increased our mental health problems. I do not feel connected with my team like I should.
“Why does the school care more about saving money with not filling the pool than the physical, emotional, and mental well-being of their student athletes? It has been a month and a half of being at school with still no answers. As a part of the athletic department, we have a right to train even if we may not have a season. All of us choose to come to UNH to train at Swasey Pool.”
Shameful. I would be worried about being as a team as well.