By Robert Haugh
Throughout the fabled history of the George F. Haines International Swim Center, thousands, maybe tens of thousands youth have learned to swim there.
Generations of families have utilized the ISC to learn to swim, learning valuable life lessons and water safety in the process.
Sadly, the ISC was recently shut down due to safety and health concerns.
The storied 60-plus-year-old facility has produced several Olympians, including Donna de Varona, Pablo Morales, Don Schollander, Mark Spitz and Chris von Saltza.
The Santa Clara Swim Club, which uses the ISC as its training facility has earned 71 Olympic medals, including 42 gold medals.
The facility also garnered several championship laurels through the Santa Clara Aquamaids.
Having been born a “blue baby,” and spending much of my life afraid of submerging in water and swimming in general (including a near drowning experience as a young child), the ISC was the place that eliminated that fear for me.
When I became a father, I knew that my 3-year-old daughter needed to learn how to swim.
With the help of former Councilman Kevin Moore and swimming activist Cynthia Owens, my daughter spent several hours at the ISC learning to swim – alongside me.
She took to the water like a dolphin.
I was hesitant, but the leadership of the Santa Clara Swim Club’s excellent staff alleviated my fears.
I have priceless memories of my daughter and me that can never be replaced, like seeing her cheering me on as I “swam” to her in the shallow pool.
The ISC is in dire need of long-term repairs; not temporary fixes.
Just five years ago, community members petitioned for a new swim center to be built in Central Park, replacing the dilapidated ISC. However, this was just prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and only $4 million of a necessary $30 to $100 million was pledged toward the project.
City staff has met with consultants regarding the safety and overall health of the aging facility. However, repairs are generally short-term fixes.
Santa Clara historically has been an innovator, currently having the slogan, “The Center of What’s Possible.”
The Mission City owns its own utility company, invested in the Northside, built an award-winning Convention Center and has grown into a major tech hub of the World.
With dozens of billion-dollar companies in the City, such as Nvidia, AMD, Intel, ServiceNow, Applied Materials, Palo Alto Networks, Arista Networks, Agilent Technologies, Pure Storage, Shockwave Medical and the 49ers, there’s plenty of possible partnerships to raise the funds to revamp the ISC and restore it to past glory.
Let’s hope City leaders and residents make it happen. And soon.
[…] coaches, parents, residents, aquatic supporters, and enthusiasts pleaded passionately about their renowned, but dilapidated swim […]
10 million
Cost of anti Gillmor effort
6 million
Cost of 2020 effort to elect
MOE JAIN
LARRY BECKER
SHEMP PARK
3 MILLION
BECKER CASE TOTAL
1 MILLION
49ERS COULD HAVE BEEN UNIVERSALLY LOVED.
SWIM CENTER REPRESENTED BY WHO??
Separate (i) community swimming pools from (ii) collegiate/international competative swimming pools. Residents don’t need an Olympic training center to teach their kids how to swim and build family memories.
1) The Wilson Adult Education and alternative high school are on a huge campus with a lot of unused space. https://maps.app.goo.gl/CrNy8zmiyh8xkYNq8 Build a community pool there for recreational swimming. If local youth want to compete, there are competition pools at Santa Clara, Wilcox, and MacDonald High Schools.
2) If there is business justification for a competitive, world class, aquatic center look to funding and placing that at Mission College without a property tax increase to residents.
Don’t forget, Olympian Claudia Kolb
$10 million should revamp that pool. We don’t need a new swim center it needs to be fixed
Again let’s try and work on coming up with a solution, rather than pointing fingers. What about let’s say Santa Clara University would like to expand its Aquatic Center Facilities and the City donates the land on a lease to SCU. Then SCU could ask its alumni for donations to build a world class facility that all Santa Clara’s could use.
George, are you suggesting we don’t point fingers at the people that should be preventing/resolving this problem? I disagree. Holding people accountable is exactly what we should do.
There is a Central Park Master Plan. Note that the following (“New 50-meter multi-use pool”) is supposed to happen “in years 1-5” which, since the plan was finalized in 2019, should have already occurred. (Of course there’s the pandemic in 2020, but still this should have begun.): https://www.santaclaraca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/70870/637704246346700000 On page 58 it says “The Kitchell Report found the existing swim center to be in critical condition and beyond its useful life, requiring some $23 million dollars for repairs.
Intense uses such as the swim center, which generate noise and traffic, should be located away from the residential neighbors and adjacent to Kiely Blvd. The development of a new pool will provide continuing access to a pool (although less capacity than current ISC) for the range of existing user groups when the existing swim center is pulled out of use.
The community places a priority on continuing the swim programs currently offered in Central Park.
2019 Budget: $9,370,451. See Appendix B for probable estimate”
I’d say hammer your district Councilmember to ask what happened — why isn’t there movement on this?
It is nice to have Santa Clara known for more than a city govt that has been corrupted by jed york. The home of the International Swim Center is name recognition that is worth something. I know from when my son was involved in swimming, this was a prestigious place to compete. Now it is likely to be just more collateral damage from a corrupt govt giving favors to a football team instead of taking care of the city. (the corrupt govt I refer to is the unfaithful 5 and their appointees)
If repairs to the exisiting pool cost $23 million … And a new pool with less capacity costs $100 million, and raising that amount of money is not likely to succeed, resulting in the existing pool being closed with no replacement … why aren’t we fixing the existing pool?
Also, SCU is not interested in accommodating the general public unless you’ve (1) attended as an undergraduate for at least one year, (2) earned a graduate degree, or (3) are sponsored by someone who is a faculty member or a graduate who knows and will recommend you – and that sponsorship must be renewed yearly. They are a private school, so they can do as they wish.
Hmmm, Zaphood, The number “$9,370,451” is 9 million, not 100 million. 9 million is less than 23 million.