The Board of Trustees has approved the addition of an aquatic center to the Lahue Physical Education Center by fall of 2016.
Since the YMCA has been available to ENC students for free, several students use the facility daily. Many students make use of the brand-new aquatic center, a swimming pool/sauna/steam room combo.
Unfortunately, some students find it quite difficult to go to the Y if they do not have a car to drive there. The ENC shuttle is always an option, but the shuttle’s running times do not fit with everyone’s schedule.
With the new aquatic center in Lahue, students will no longer need to travel to the YMCA every time they want to go for a swim. The center will include a swimming pool, shower rooms for men and women (separate rooms that require an ID card), and a hot tub (maximum of 5) that requires reservation ahead of time. The hot tub can only be reserved for students of the same gender.
Athletic Director Nancy Detwiler explained that the idea of an aquatic center is not new.
“We have gone to great depths to make this a reality,” she said. “When it was drained from the original plans, I felt really sunk. The plans called for the entry doors to be in place of the current lobby windows with seating and steps down to the pool. The entire parking area would have been an aquatics center with its own director.”
With the expansion of the Lahue Physical Education Center, the aquatic center plans are now possible.
The athletics department is pleased to be able to make students’ schedules less time constrained for those who cannot make it to the Y and/or want to spend less than an hour in a gym.
“I am so excited that the Lahue Physical Education Center will be undergoing renovations for the new addition of the aquatic center,” senior Katie Smith said. “Our swim team will greatly benefit from this; the drive to the South Shore YMCA was starting to become a burden on team commitment.”
Construction for the new aquatic center will begin in spring of 2015 with the estimated completion date of fall of 2016.