Broken tiles, rusted drains, and regularly murky water are a few of the problems with the Paly pool.
However, Paly’s aquatic program and the physical education program won’t have to worry anymore; the new pool is on the way. All of the necessary funds have been collected and the construction plans are in their final stages, thanks to the ACCEL foundation and strong support from the Paly community. The PAUSD administration is currently evaluating the construction bid plans submitted by Spencer Associates, the proper team working with ACCEL. The plans that were put forward exceed the physical education and competitive athletic needs, with 17 lanes for swim teams and enough room for two water polo courses to be used simultaneously according to Dave Atkinson, ACCEL president

According to Atkinson, the current pool falls far short of the requirements for physical education or competitive aquatic teams such as swimming, diving, and water polo.

"For the past two years, ACCEL has been engaged with the PAUSD to build awareness in the Paly community that the current pool falls far short of meeting necessary requirements," Atkinson said. "This awareness has brought forward financial support from many past, present and future Paly families."

There are two planned phases of the construction for the new pool. Phase one includes the basics, the pool, and just enough to start using it for competition as soon as it is done.

"Ideally we would like to start construction in February 2005 and be finished by August, for the fall polo season," Barb Champion, Another member of the ACCEL board said. "We expect the project to take about six months, allowing time for any construction problems that can come from a big project like this."
During the construction time, one or more aquatic teams will be displaced. A location has not yet been found for the swimming and diving teams to practice at while construction is going on. However, ACCEL and the athletics department at Paly have approached several different sites for practicing, according to Champion.

Once ACCEL receives more funding, they will begin the second phase of the project. The second phase includes installation of all of the bells and whistles, outside lights, and possibly a new score board.

The new pool will not only meet P.E. and sports standards, thanks to ACCEL, it will have the size and equipment capable of hosting aquatic tournaments, or possibly being open to the general public.

"There may be community hours at the new pool if the City or the YMCA decides to lease time and space from PAUSD over the summer and open it to the community," Champion said. "We will also be able to host league championships in swimming and or water polo which would be great. There may be outside polo or swim groups who may want to lease the site periodically for special meets or tournaments. Some of our coaches have also expressed an interest in developing master’s swim or polo programs as well at the site which also could open it to the community."

The more teams and the more people the new pool brings to Paly, the better, according to Champion. Champion hopes that new people and teams interested in the pool will help funding and could also advertise for Paly and the aquatics program. If either the City or YMCA leases time and space from the Paly athletic department, it would provide revenue to help pay for the pool and operating expenses and the additions that would take place in phase two.

"The pool will be 35 meters long by 25 yards wide, with an area of 10’ x 75’ of shallow water from 3’- 6’ for physical education instructional use. 16 swim training lanes, each 7’ wide," Champion explained. "Three will be in shallow or partially shallow water and the other thirteen in all-deep water that can be used as two 6-lane competition courses with one buffer lane in between. Also, the new pool will support one 25 or 30 meter floating water polo course with a warm-up area, or two 25-yard wall practice courses."

As mentioned before, Champion hopes that the new pool will bring in new funding. "Hopefully once people see a new pool, they will want to pay for bleachers, lights, a new scoreboard, and finishing touches like that," Champion said. For now Paly will try to re-use any and all of the existing features like the old bleachers, and the old scoreboard.

According to Atkinson, "Decisions regarding large construction projects like the Paly pool may require changes and modifications before bids can be awarded and construction can start." Since we live in an area notorious for earthquakes, a section of the approval focused on all the latest safety code requirements. "The Dept. of State Architecture (DSA) approval that was required to obtain was called ‘Fire and Life Safety,’ which is quite extensive and ensures safety," Champion said. "With this, and the strong design of the pool, the pool will be able to last indefinitely if properly maintained."

The construction of the new pool is important to many people clearly evident from the generous donations and all the support Paly has received for the new pool. "As you can see from the facilities comparison [with other schools in the area], we are one of the last schools, public or private, to update our pool. Paly has an incredible aquatics legacy that deserves better facilities," Champion said. "The whole school will benefit because everyone is in that pool for PE classes. We [ACCEL] view the pool as an instructional classroom for the high school."