UTM Campus Recreation announced recently that the pool in the Elam Center has been reopened after “much- needed” renovations. The pool reopened on Tuesday, Jan. 17, just in time for the new semester to begin.

“We are real excited that we have been able to reopen the aquatic facility,” says Gina McClure, Director of Campus Recreation. The Elam Center pool is the primary swimming location for students on campus.

The pool was closed down May 28 of last year. Renovations on the pool were supposed to begin shortly after the closing of the pool. However, because of some contracting problems they did not begin until early September.

“It did take a while for the renovations to start, but once it all got going, it went very well and very quickly,” says McClure.

Renovations were completed around December 16 of last year. After the they were completed, the campus recreation staff had to get the pool ready for reopening, which entailed getting the water ready and retraining and recertifying the lifeguard staff.

Renovations included re-doing the surface of the pool, retiling the floor, building steps in the shallow end, filling in the underwater observation window in the deep end, installing a brand new filtration system and installing a new boiler to heat the pool.

Along with the reopening of the aquatic facility may be some new aquatic activities to be offered starting this summer or this fall. They include inner tube water polo and a movie at the pool, where students would sit in inner tubes and watch films.

The pools hours are: Morning swim only, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 7:30-9:30 am; Noon swim only, Monday-Friday, 11:30 am-1 pm; Open swim, Monday-Friday, 4-7 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 1-5.

Just a few reminders for those planning to attend the aquatic facility: • Wear the appropriate swimwear: no street clothes, denim shorts, or thong bathing suits. • All non potty-trained children must wear a swim diaper. • You must present your Skyhawk ID card at Recreation Check before entering the pool area. If you have a friend that is not a UTM student or faculty member with you, they must pay the $3 fee in order to swim. • You must shower before entering the pool. • No horseplay or running allowed. • The times designated “morning swim” and “noon swim” are for lap swimmers only. The only time that you can leisurely swim is during the open swim time. • There will be a lifeguard on duty at all times. Please respect them. The pool also hosts birthday parties. If you need any information regarding that or anything else pertaining to the pool, you can contact the Office of Campus Recreation at 881-7745.

“We are excited about the pool being reopened. The feeling in the community is that we (the community)didn’t know how much we enjoyed the pool until we didn’t have it for a while,” says McClure.