Villagers eagerly lined up Monday morning for the reopening of swimming pools.
The pools were shut down in mid-March after residents openly flouted Centers for Disease Control recommendations regarding social distancing and a limit of 10 participants.
The reopening of the pools comes with plenty of new rules, including a one-hour limit.
There has been plenty of concern for the Recreation Department employees serving as monitors at the pools.
The first Villager lined up at the Churchill Pool asked how she was going to be timed, in order to be held to the one-hour limit.
The monitor calmly explained that Recreation Department employees will be “learning as we go” and they weren’t sure what to expect. The monitor heard a retort that, “You should have thought of that before you opened.”
Residents expressed sarcasm, including, “I feel like a child at recess, are you going to ring a bell and call us all out?”
Villages residents have priority and the gates at the pools are being monitored. Swimmers are asked to stay 6 feet away from each other. Those heading to the pool should “come dressed to swim.” Showers will not be available. Swimmers must bring their own masks, disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizer, Village ID and equipment.
Sports pools will be open from 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. each day. The maximum capacity at the pools will be 39 participants.
The sports pool are:
• Colony Cottage
• La Hacienda
• Mulberry Grove
• SeaBreeze
• Eisenhower
• Lake Miona
• Rohan
• Spanish Moss
• Everglades
• Laurel Manor
• Savannah Center
A number of family pools will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day and limited to 35 to 44 participants, depending on the pool.
They are:
• Allamanda
• Bacall
• Big Cypress
• Bradenton
• Bridgeport
• Burnsed
• Canal Street
• Captiva
• Cattail
• Chatham
• Churchill
• Coconut Cove
• El Santiago
• Fenney
• FishHawk
• Hibiscus
• Manatee
• Moyer
• Odell
• Paradise
• Pimlico
• Rio Grande
• Riverbend
• Sterling Heights
• Truman
Three neighborhood pools will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and will be limited to 27 participants at any time. They are
• Chula Vista
• Southside (the hot tub will not be open)
• Tierra Del Sol
Are you ready to return to the pools? Do you think the rules will work? Share your thoughts in a Letter to the Editor at https://www.villages-news.com/submit-letters-editor/
