Cheney’s Parks and Recreation Department is kicking off the summer swimming season with six hours of games, activities and other festivities during “Pool Bash 2015.” The “bash” runs from 1 – 7 p.m. Friday, June 19, and takes place not only in the pool but also spills out into nearby Hagelin Park.
Activities in the park include carnival games for all ages from 1 – 3 p.m. and 4 – 6 p.m. along with a slip-n-slide from 3 – 5 p.m. At 2 and 5 p.m. there will be a water balloon toss, which Parks and Recreation Supervisor Kim Best said is similar to the egg toss, with partners tossing each other water balloons as they continually increase the distance between them.
There will be information on Cheney’s Sea Monkeys swim team, who Best said would be competing at local meets this summer. There will be personnel on hand to provide life jacket safety instructions, such as the proper way to wear a jacket and how the jacket should fit to be most effective.
The National Guard will be bringing a rock-climbing wall along with other activities. There will be music and free food as well, although Best said they are still looking for a food sponsor.
In the pool, free open swim runs from 1 – 5 p.m. During that time there will be pool basketball, with hoops set up for swimmers to choose up teams and have some friendly competition.
At 2 p.m. there will be a cannonball contest open to anybody who passes the swimming test for entry into the pool’s deep end.
“We’ll have people alongside judging from 1 – 10 on how good their cannonball is,” Best said.
At 3 p.m. is the lifeguard noodle jump, with lifeguards grabbing as many of the squiggly foam tubes as possible and then jumping into the water from the diving board. At 5:30 p.m. is an aqua fitness demo, at 6 p.m. pool safety instructions, 6:15 p.m. swim testing and assessments and at 6:30 p.m. a water aerobics demo.
Best added that kids passing their swimming assessments can have their name logged into a book so that when they come to swim they automatically are allowed to swim in the pool’s deep end. The lessons also feature a 10-minute swim assessment prior to signup so parents can have a better determination of their child’s abilities and what level of lessons they should enroll them in.
Best said they have received a donation for pool passes, and will be giving out free passes as prizes. The department has also partnered with the Make-A-Splash organization, and will be giving out passes along with noodles, towels and swim suits to low-income families who can show income qualification.
Best said there would be a number of new features at the pool this summer. All of the benches in the pool house are being upgraded, and some playground-style equipment has been added to a fenced off portion of the pool deck area where parents can take their toddlers and pre-school age children to play while siblings are in the pool.
Open swim times have some new promotions as well, beginning with a $1 off admission during Father’s Day, June 21. On Tuesdays there will be a two for the price of one special along with a “Buddy for a Buck” special during open and teen swims where if one “buddy” has a pass the other buddy can swim for just $1.
Finally, the “Splash and Dash Youth Triathlon” is set for July 18, with registration taking place through the Parks and Recreation office.
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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