VCSC Aquatic Center again open and operating at 'full capacity'

Apr. 12—Fayette Elementary kindergarten children Wednesday paddled, splashed and smiled as they learned or improved their swimming skills in the Vigo County School Corp. Aquatic Center.

They are participating in Swim by 7, in which all kindergarten students receive five days of swim lessons — over the course of a week — as part of their school day. Vigo elementary schools rotate through during the school year.

Kindergarten student Sadie Rhodes, who already knows how to swim, especially likes going underwater to recover diving rings.

Fayette teacher Lori Kastigar said Swim by 7 "is an amazing program. Kids really learn so much in such a short amount of time and get comfortable with the water."

Some children already know how to swim, but many don't. "Wow, just the water safety aspect of it" is important, Kastigar said.

The aquatics facility, located in Voorhees Park, is back up and running and has been for a few weeks, after a failed pool heater caused some events and programs to be moved to other locations.

"They essentially rebuilt the entire heater," said Mike Williams, VCSC Aquatics Center director. "We are now back at full capacity."

The facility, which opened in January 2016, has been regularly maintained for cleanings and updates, officials say.

It serves the North, South and West Vigo high school swimming programs and it also offers high school lifeguard classes.

But the aquatics center has many other programs, including adult lap swim and club rental opportunities, Williams said. Indiana State University's women's swimming/diving program uses it for practices.

"We're busy," and that's sometimes from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Williams said.

Swim by 7 began in 2017, and kindergarten students are bused in.

This year, third graders also are participating in the program since many missed it in kindergarten due to COVID-19.

Since the program's inception, more than 10,000 elementary-aged VCSC children have come through the program, Williams said.

For the kindergarten and first-grade age group, accidental drowning is the No. 2 cause of death nationwide, which makes the program especially important, he said.

He outlined some of the other programs available:

—Adult lap swimming for those 18 and over. The program began in January 2019 and is $5 per visit (free for VCSC employees).

The facility is open for lap swimming from 6 to 7:30 a.m. Tuesdays, Thursday and Fridays, as well as noon to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Adult lap swim participants don't have to be Vigo County residents; some come from surrounding counties as well as Illinois, Williams said.

—The pool is also available for clubs to rent. It is used by the Terre Haute Torpedoes swim club and the Team Acorn triathlon club for training.

The facility also has been used by Rose-Hulman, the Terre Haute Fire Department SCUBA team, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources SCUBA Search and Rescue Team, the Boy Scouts, Happiness Bag and Camp Navigate.

It is not rented out for pool parties, Williams said.

"Even though this is a school building, it's much more than a school building," Williams said. But because of the many programs involving VCSC students, that is why public access is limited, he said.

"We have to be open to the public at times when we don't have students in the building," he said.

The facility hosts high school and college swim meets as well as college invitationals.

Last year, it hosted 27 swim meets that spanned about 35 days, as some were multi-day events.

Often, those events bring people from outside the community who may use local hotels, restaurants and other businesses.

While the parking lot might at times seem empty, there's often plenty going on inside, as there was Wednesday morning when the Fayette children were learning to swim, he said.

Aquatics Center employees currently include four certified teachers, two educational assistants, five lifeguards and two custodians; it also has a school protection officer.

The teachers are licensed physical education teachers and also are Red Cross-certified water safety instructors and Red Cross-certified lifeguard instructors.

On Wednesday, Fayette educator Sarah Belfi said her students are "super excited" about using the aquatics facility.

Student Scarlett Staley said, "It's really fun." She already knows how to swim, but now she's getting even better.

The $9.8 million aquatic facility had its grand opening in January 2016. The 31,150-square-foot facility replaced aging pools at North Vigo, South Vigo and West Vigo high schools.

Donors funded "extras" that the school district could not afford in a $9.8 million project, officials said at the time.

Because the project cost was kept under $10 million, it was not subject to a referendum.

Sue Loughlin can be reached at 812-231-4235 or at sue.loughlin@tribstar.com Follow Sue on Twitter @TribStarSue