The City of Gainesville’s three municipal swimming pools exceeded attendance goals for the season, which ended Oct. 31.
In the last year, patrons logged 123,704 visits, according to a recent news release. Overall, attendance has tripled since 2007.
The Dwight H. Hunter “Northeast” Pool, located at 1100 NE 14th St., is open year-round and had the highest reported attendance with nearly 60,000 visits last year, according to the release. To record attendance, residents scan in with a membership card, and the data is sent to the city, said Ashley Miller, the Northeast Pool manager.
“In the early 2000s, no one would come,” she said. “Now we seem to be over capacity, and we have programs stacked back-to-back throughout the year.”
Gainesville resident Leah Vail practices her time-clock drills and pull-kicks at the Northeast pool twice a week to train for her next U.S. Masters Swimming event.
“I come here because of the friendly atmosphere,” she said.
The city’s investment in the pools and the economic downturn that began in 2008 contributed to the increased attendance, according to the release.
“We have noticed more walk-in people over time,” Miller said. “It seems to stay pretty constant throughout the year.”
A version of this story ran on page 9 on 11/19/2013 under the headline "Gainesville swimming pools draw about 124,000 visits"
