Morris Pool opens Saturday

In a sign of the coming summer and the warmer weather, Morris City Pool will be open for the first time in 2024 from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 25.

Community Affairs Director Stan Knudson said this season marks the return of old mainstays like swim lessons and water aerobics classes. It also marks the return of the summer sponsorship program.

“The highest dollar sponsors get to sponsor Free Swim Saturdays, and those are pretty nice,” Knudson said. “It’s free for all local residents and those days are a lot of fun. It’s going to be a good summer.”

Pool manager Jim Hitchcock said it’ll be a good year for a swim with the summer expected to be hotter than usual. Although the pool is returning 80% of its lifeguards from last year, Hitchcock is looking to hire more.

“The city has always helped out with everything we need down here,” Hitchcock said. “They’re fabulous, and we saw the shortcomings coming and we got ahead of the curve on pay and benefits for our guards. We even have our own lifeguard certifier, our own instructor who does it.”

Hitchcock said they typically hire around 20 guards but they hired 30 last year, and they’re looking to hire 36 this year because the kids are busy with sports and family and other activities.

The Morris City Pool has aquatics programs for everyone ages six months to elderly, including the swim lessons and water aerobics classes. Hitchcock is also hoping for more participation in competitions such as the biggest splash and craziest dive programs.

“We’re looking for that to grow so we can have age classes, and then we’re offering a tournament with stuff like Spike and Slam,” Hitchock said. “These are water inner-tube basketball, which is three-on-three and then a three-on-three or five-on-five volleyball tournament. We’re going to do that in the evenings one night a week.”

Season passes are on sale now, and residents can register for swim lessons and book parties for the year. A season pass costs $50 for city residents or $150 for a family. Nonresidents will pay $75 for a season pass, and $225 for a family. Regular admission for city residents is $1 for a child or senior citizen and $3 for an adult. Nonresidents cost $8, except for nonresident senior citizens, who pay $3.

Registration will also be open from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 18 and any time during open swim hours after 1 p.m. Swim lessons start on Monday, June 10.

Those interested in the city pool programs or in becoming a lifeguard should visit morriscitypool.org.