After venting my spleen yesterday and today to folks whose response is "be happy for the(ir) kids (not mine)).

I would like to genuinely wish a hearty congratulations to the swim team.

If anyone knows any other dates this will close the pool maybe they could post here. 'cuz I'm not depending on the pool to let us know.

Posted by: RidgeRanger | Jul 12, 2005 9:53:47 AM

I am glad you updated your story with some more facts. While it was disappointing to you and a FEW others, those of us at the swim meet, particularly the kids, were having a great time! Hopefully the Glen Ridge Voice will have some pictures of the kids on the hill chanting Glen Ridge after they won! A wonderful sight indeed! The meet ended early (at 7:15)and the pool did re-open.

We apologize if you did not read the email or the notice at the front desk or on the bathroom doors, we will work on this. To further clarify, this was our very first and only home meet this year. Practices are at 8:00-10:00 in the morning, specifically scheduled NOT to interfere with the regular pool hours.

We have no name, but I am pretty sure that the name Barracudas is taken. We'll keep you posted.

One final note, credit should be given to the community members who designed the pool (4 years ago). The pool is exactly the right length and depth to allow for shallow dives at club meets.

Katie Hegarty
Pool Team Parent Coordinator

Posted by: Katie Hegarty | Jul 12, 2005 9:59:44 AM

Sounds like Felicia Lee is well on her way to becoming a champion.

I used to swim competitively as a young teen and I'm familiar with the grueling hours spent in the pool doing endless laps at ungodly hours.

And Barista... most competitive swimming pools are relatively shallow... you don't need a deep pool for a racing dive.

Posted by: Pam | Jul 12, 2005 10:00:54 AM

While I did not design the pool, I know that having it be regulation length and depth for swim meets was a non-negotiable requirement.

There were many concessions made in the pool design to allow it to be built. We could not have made it deeper without incurring an additional huge expense that our funds could not cover. Recall that this pool was built and is running at no cost whatsoever to taxpayers. Because of this, we had to drop our dream of the "perfect" pool and build one that would meet most needs of most members.

Posted by: sue | Jul 12, 2005 10:21:53 AM

Over in Montclair, we enjoy a "magnet" pool program, where residents don't necessarily attend the pool closest to their home. Freedom of choice allows us to attend three pools. In search of shade, I spent the late afternoon at Nishuane which was absolutely lovely (the adjacent playground and plenty of trees make this one of the nicest pools). Deb -- call me if you get locked out again...

Posted by: Liz | Jul 12, 2005 10:54:23 AM

Well, we're a young pool and mistakes will be made but things are starting to gel. My hat's off to Dan for taking on the job of managing the pool after the previous manager's debacle, and also for the great pool games on the 4th, he's doing a fine job.
Kim, the poolteam coach, thanks for all your help in
organizing kid's of all age groups to get from one end of the pool to the other with style!....
Go G-Force!

Posted by: PAZinLV | Jul 12, 2005 5:32:33 PM

I'm sorry to see that some people were dissappointed that the pool was closed early yesterday. As Katy said, it is the one and only time this will happen this year. Most if not all pools that have swim teams need to close the pool on occassion for swim meets. We are fortunate that our pool opens two hours earlier than other towns.
Congratulations to our team, coach, parents and the community during our first season! It's really great for me to see this become a reality and it is just what I envisioned when I joined the pool team many years ago.

Posted by: Julie | Jul 12, 2005 7:41:02 PM

Nishuane is a great pool. Not only do you have the playground right next to the pool for the little ones, but the basketball and tennis courts are also right there.

Its also just a short walk to the South End Business District where you can get a smoothie or a snack (unfortunately still no homemade Ice Cream), or you can pick up any thing from vegetarian to BBQ to Caribbean to Chinese for dinner or a picnic.

Posted by: Bitpusher | Jul 12, 2005 7:42:36 PM

I know I am a little late to this, but I have only read about this now.

1st let me congratulate the swim team on their recent successes and to thank all of the volunteers who made this team a reality.

As one of the founders of the pool, one of the things that made me most proud was the selfless volunteers that we have had working 10-50 hours a week on top of thier other reponsibilities to work and family, all to make this pool function the best we can. We have had dozens of outstanding volunteers that have never been properly thanked for all of their sacrifices for each and every one of the pool members including those who are complaining the loudest and the longest about petty things. I want to publicly on this board thank each and every one of them.

When we were in the early stages of the planning of this pool, long before there were any members, everyone walked up to us volunteering their views and their thoughts on what we needed to do. Our response was consistent, "thats a very good idea, head up a group to make it happen". 50% of the time that person was sincere and would start a group that would implement these ideas, but the other half of the time the person would "huff away" because we wouldn't implement their idea in the woefully little time we had left in the day to spend with our families.

I bring this up, not because I disagree with those who feel that their life was ruined because of not putting the proper words on a subject line, but because none of the people complaining chose to volunteer and help improve the perceived problem. Rather, they would prefer that those volunteers who are already making the sacrifices to make the pool better work even harder.

That said, I ask everyone NOT to hold back their issues with the pool. The only way that we can make this pool one of the best community pools around is by improving how we do things now. This is exactly how we ended up with our very succesful swim team. What I do insist, is rather than "bitching and moaning" with no solution, volunteer to help out by offering to improve communications yourself.

One more thing, Kate & I get thanks by someone or another every time we go to the pool for making this thing happen. Please hold the thanks for us and start thanking every member of the pool's board and councils who have tried so hard to make this pool great. They have done way more work than I have, they deserve the thanks more than us.

Posted by: Michael Potters | Jul 13, 2005 2:52:47 PM