Saturday, January 08, 2000
New pool may give school's a break
BY CINDY SCHROEDER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
As the only Northern Kentucky high school with a pool, Scott High School's facility in Taylor Mill gets year-round use from early morning to late evening.
“We have more requests for the use of this facility than we can accommodate,” said David Webb, Kenton County Schools' aquatics director. “When you look at (Northern Kentucky's) aquatic facilities, especially during the winter months when we're in the competitive season, there simply aren't enough places for swimmers to train.”
Relief may soon be on the way, however, in the form of the new $2.5 million, Silverlake Recreation Center, scheduled to open this spring in Erlanger.
A focal point of the 65,000-square foot Silverlake center will be an Olympic-size, 50-meter indoor pool, comparable in size to Keating Natatorium in Finneytown. It also will have a smaller, warm-water pool that can be used for teaching, recreation or therapy.
“In Northern Kentucky, we simply don't have enough aquatic facilities to meet the needs of the general public,” Mr. Webb said.
Mr. Webb said Scott's pool is now devoted to community use 60 to 70 percent of the time. He has had to turn down requests to expand the popular water aerobics program; routinely fills the first session of summer swim classes during the first day of pre-registration; and has had to limit American Red Cross water safety courses, despite requests to add more.
“It'll help ease our situation,” Mr. Webb said of the new recreation center. “This is going to be a much larger facility. It's set up to meet
the needs of the community, where we are set up to meet the needs of the school district.”
Open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week, Silverlake will cater to everyone from families looking for recreational outlets to competitive athletes, said developer Richard Dickmann.
“It'll be a place where families can take their kids, meet their friends, get a bite to eat, and work out,” Mr. Dickmann said. “It'll be the average man's sports club.”
With its flexible hours, Silverlake Recreation Center also can accommodate residents who like to work out before or after work or school, said Doug Hewling, the center's director.
While Silverlake Recreation Center has not yet actively solicited memberships, it has received membership applications since late December from hits on its web site, Mr. Dickmann said. The center will accept walk-ins, but memberships will be limited to ensure that the facility can accommodate users.
“There's nothing like this around here, and we want to make sure we don't accept too many people,” Mr. Hewling said. “We're talking with other centers around the country to determine what that magical number should be.”
Besides the pools, Silverlake will have four multipurpose courts for volleyball and basketball; a fitness center; locker areas; and a concession, arcade and gathering area.
The new center also will be home to Northern Kentucky Clippers Swimming, a USA swim program that feeds high school teams.
For 20 years, the award-winning team — formerly known as the Kenton County Clippers — has trained thousands of swimmers, making it the larg est swim club in Northern Kentucky.
But inadequate pool time has forced the club to turn away dozens of swimmers, practice at odd times, and often lose its best athletes to Ohio.
“Hopefully, those days are over now,” Mr. Webb said.
Silverlake Recreation Center also will be home to the Northern Kentucky Volleyball Club.
“We had our organizational meeting in October; and within two weeks, we were full,” said Katie Wesseling, the volleyball club's director.
Mrs. Wesseling said 100 girls, ages 10 to 14, have signed up to play volleyball; and the club is now taking names on a waiting list.
The volleyball club, which started its practices this week, hopes to encourage girls to play who might not have had the chance before, Mrs. Wesseling said.
As the athletic director at St. Joseph school, Mrs. Wesseling said that she “has people calling year-round,” seeking gym time.
Aside from the lack of gym space for organized teams, some youths also are intimidated about having to try out for volleyball teams, Mrs. Wesseling said. However, the Northern Kentucky Volleyball Club will allow girls to play, regardless of ability, as long as there are openings.
“We're not in competition with anybody else in the area,” Mrs. Wesseling said. “We're just trying to give more kids an opportunity to participate.”
For information on the Silverlake Recreation Center or any of its programs, contact Doug Hewling at (606) 426-5253, or visit the center's web site at www.go2silverlake.com.
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