Pierce Park Pool to stay open year round in partnership with Swim Charleston

Starting in January 2018, Pierce Park Pool on Daniel Island will be open year round in partnership with Swim Charleston, a local non-profit club dedicated to developing swimmers and empowering them to lead.

In exchange for new heaters and a usage fee, the teams at Swim Charleston, which includes a USA swim club, will have access to four lanes of the pool Monday through Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings, according to Jane Baker, vice president of community services for the Daniel Island Property Owners Association (POA).

“Swim Charleston is granted the exclusive right to use a maximum of four swimming lanes in Pierce Park Pool during the months of January, February, March, November and December,” said Baker. “Beginning on Jan. 1, 2018 and ending on Dec. 31, 2020, Swim Charleston shall have access to and be entitled to use Pierce Park Pool during the swimming season from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday. Members of DICA will have access to the two remaining lanes in Pierce Park Pool.”

After their lease fell through with the LTP pool in Mount Pleasant, President of the Swim Charleston Board and volunteer coach Doug Shaefer explained that due to support from parents, community members and the POA, they were able to find water at Pierce Pool on Daniel Island.

“Jane and her team—Dani, Scott and Matt—have put in countless hours getting this together,” said Shaefer. “Usually, it would take six to 12 months to do something and they did it in about four weeks, which is really phenomenal.”

This new partnership does not only benefit the 90 total swimmers at Swim Charleston, about 75 percent of which are from Daniel Island, it also benefits the community, explained Baker.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to bring year round swimming to the Daniel Island Community Association at no additional cost to our residents,” said Baker.

Swim Charleston also plans to provide additional programming for residents as it is requested, according to Shaefer.

“Swim Charleston has a lot of experience, not only with age group swimmers, but swim lessons—both small group and individual for kids learning to swim—little kids, as well as older kids and adults learning to swim,” he said. “Master Swimming is also really popular in Charleston. Master Swimming just is adults over the age of 18 who want to swim. You can be competitive if you want. We ran into a few DI community members already who said they’d like to see master swimming come to Daniel Island. We’ll be investigating that as well because we’d like to have adults get together and swim together.”

As for their specific goals, growing the team, getting acclimated to the new location and getting involved in the community are vital.

“We’re probably shooting for a team totaling around 150 swimmers,” said Shaefer. “This year, we’ll be growing into that size…We’ll be getting used to the new pool locations, growing the team over the next year or so, working hard with the community to make sure we’re bringing what the community wants and bringing the ability to keep the pools open and some added value to the community. It’s a real partnership and that’s what is so exciting for us.”

For more information on Swim Charleston and its programs, visit https://www.teamunify.com/Home.jsp?_tabid_=0&team=schs or “Swim Charleston” on Facebook.

Daniel Island Publishing

225 Seven Farms Drive
Unit 108
Daniel Island, SC 29492 

Office Number: 843-856-1999
Fax Number: 843-856-8555

 

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