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Let's Celebrate 20 Years at Bayside!
Monday, April 23 | 6 am - 9:15 pm | Bayside Rec Center
 Join us for a day of celebration at Bayside Recreation Center in honor of twenty years of fun! A variety of activities, programs and drop-in group fitness classes will be available to you - with no membership needed! Enjoy free access to the recreation center, including the weight room, pool and drop-in fitness classes, from 6 am until 9:15 pm, Monday, April 23 at the center's 20th Anniversary Celebration.
Pool Activities:
Lap Swim (25 meters) | 6 am - 9:15 pm
Open Swim | 6 am - 5:30 pm & 8:30 - 9:15 pm
Water Exercise (self-directed) | 6 - 7:45 am, 9 am - 5:30 pm & 8:30 - 9:15 pm
Deep Water Cardio & Core Group Fitness Class | 7:45 - 8:45 am
Full schedule of activities is available here. Hope to see you at Bayside on Monday! |
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Adult Swim Clinics Offered at Seatack
 Learn how to swim faster with less effort by participating in one of our adult swim clinics lead by Karlyn Pipes Neilsen, an experienced masters swimmer who holds over 208 masters world records. You'll learn how to relax and find your balance, and effectively breathe in any condition.
Open Water Swimming | Friday, May 4 | 5:30 - 8:30 pm | $125
Faster Freestyle | Saturday, May 5 | 11 am - 3:30 pm | $175 *this clinic includes a video analysis of your swim
Multi-Strokes | Sunday, May 6 | 11:30 am - 2:30 pm | $130
Register at any Virginia Beach Recreation Center. A recreation membership or day pass is required. For more information about Karlyn and her techniques, visit AquaticEdge.org. |
April Pools Day Promotes Water Safety
Saturday, April 21 | 1 pm | Huntersville Rec Center, Norfolk  Learn about water safety at the American Red Cross' April Pools Day event. This one-day event began as an outreach program to provide water safety education for the community, and continues today through the generous donations of volunteers and the Swim on for Safety fundraiser. Join in the fun! Youth ages 5-14 and their parents can participate in interactive Water Safety Stations including Backyard Pool Safety; Canoeing; Coast Guard; Reaching and Throwing Rescues; and Longfellow's Pool Rules. This event is free and open to the public; swim suits are required for participation. For more information, please contact Huntersville Recreation Center, Norfolk at 664-7431. |
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Going the Extra M.I.L.E.S. in Swimming
 If you look up the program description for M.I.L.E.S. in our catalog you'll find that "miles" means more to us than number of lengths swum in the pool: Motivation, Instruction, Lifeguard, Experienced, Swimmers. Our vision includes a variety of fitness, water safety and lifeguard preparation skills for youth age 5-15. We hope swimmers will refine their strokes to swim with ease and efficiency while increasing endurance.
Maggie Sullivan's first swim lesson was a Tiny Bobbers class with her mom while she was in kindergarten, and she hated it. She cried, pretended to throw up, threw tantrums...anything she could think of to get out of class. And her dislike of the water continued until the summer before her third grade year. She recalls being at the beach and seeing all the people swimming and enjoying the water. She couldn't even put her face in, and soon realized that learning to swim might be a good idea. From that point forward she embraced swimming lessons, taking every class available from Level 1 up to Level 5. Her journey was not always smooth, for example she repeated Level 3 three times, but she didn't give up. Once she completed Level 5 (which also took three times), Maggie joined the Princess Anne Piranhas winter swim league.
After swim team, Maggie wanted a new challenge so she signed up for M.I.L.E.S. She really liked it because it was so different from lessons and swim team; it felt more like training. One important accomplishment she appreciated was becoming proficient in the butterfly, a stroke she was unable to perfect on swim team. Maggie also remembers how the instructor got in the water with the class each day, providing feedback and sharing in their workouts. When she went to summer camp in Maine later that year, her completion of the M.I.L.E.S. program earned her a spot as an instructor aide during swim lessons. Since then, Maggie completed the Junior Lifeguard class and Water Safety Instructor Aide mentorship and is an active volunteer who looks forward to coming of age so she can become both a Lifeguard and Water Safety Instructor.
With M.I.L.E.S. there is no limit to how far your skills may take you. |
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Lightning Safety at Indoor Pools
 On your way to the pool, you see a flash of light that bursts from the clouds. You continue to venture to the rec center thinking an indoor pool won't close for a thunderstorm. You arrive at the center, swim suit on and towel in hand. Then you hear, "I'm sorry, but the pool is closed because lightning has been spotted in the area."
Lightning is a random, chaotic and dangerous fact of nature. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports there are an average of 55-60 fatalities and 400 injuries from lightning in the United States annually. In 2010, there were just over 22 million lightning strikes in the country with 300,000 strikes in Virginia alone. Lightning follows the path of least resistance through the air and along or through the ground. This means that if lightning strikes the ground near an indoor pool, it may lead into the building via low resistance conductors. How is that possible? The underground water pipes, gas lines, electric and telephone wiring all connect to the pool creating a metallic network that extends outside of the building. A lightning strike to the ground anywhere on this metallic network may induce shocks elsewhere.
There have been no reports of deaths from lightning while using indoor pools; however, there are many reports of lightning deaths in bathtubs as well as reports of injuries to people indoors with direct and indirect contact with water (kitchen sink, laundry room, bathroom, etc.) It seems reasonable that the potential for lightning incidents with people in indoor pools does exist.
So as we venture into the time of year where thunderstorms occur often and lightning strikes frequently, keep in mind the swimming pools and shower facilities at the recreation centers close for lightning and may remain closed for up to 30 minutes after the last strike. We ask everyone to exit the pool deck whether visiting for lessons, swimming laps or open swimming, and to stay clear of the showers. We'll let you back in as soon as it's safe. |
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Please Note Our Upcoming Facility Closures
The pool at Kempsville Recreation Center will close at noon, Saturday, May 5 and reopen at 6:30 am, Monday, May 7 for a minor ladder repair.
All Virginia Beach Recreation Centers and Owl Creek Tennis Center will be closed on May 28 for Memorial Day.
The pool at Princess Anne Recreation Center will be closed May 19 through June 17 for maintenance.
Don't forget that your membership is good at all six Virginia Beach Recreation Centers! If your usual center is closed for maintenance, take the opportunity to visit another center. Use this locator to help you find one! |
Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation believes all of our diverse citizens have a right to participate in community recreation and we are committed to creating equal access for everyone who may have a challenge or barrier. If you or your child require additional support, we can help. Learn more about our accommodation and inclusion services.
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We welcome your comments and questions. Feel free to email us at fun@vbgov.com. |
Virginia Beach Parks & Recreation is accredited by CAPRA,
the certifying agency of the National Recreation and Park Association. |
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