Donner Aquatics Center has had lukewarm attendance since its opening Memorial Day weekend, in large part due to cooler temperatures at the end of May and and on and off rainy weather since then.
During the aquatic center’s first week, the average high temperature in Columbus was about 69. So it wasn’t surprising to see a few brave souls with “blue lips and goosebumps,” parks Assistant Director of Recreation Nikki Murphy said.
Mother Nature was so uncooperative at times that the center had to be closed on the first day of the Memorial Day weekend. The facility had to be shut down again when lightning accompanied a storm that rolled through on June 3, she said.
But even on the dry days during the first week, the cool temperatures kept daily attendance at no more than 125 people on any given day during the first week, Murphy said.
Whenever the air temperature is below 70, most people aren’t going to feel comfortable once they get out of the water — even if they have a heated pool.
However, even if the temperatures would have been more summer-like, the water had not been in the pool long enough to absorb the warmth, she said.
“It’s a large pool with a lot of water in there, especially with that diving well,” Murphy said.
From management’s perspective, low attendance isn’t necessary a bad thing during the first few weeks.
“It gives us an opportunity to make sure our new lifeguards and staff are adequately trained, as well as provide them with a smaller number to watch as they learn their duties,” Murphy said.
In addition, there have been plenty of times that the weather has been uncooperative with the center’s opening.
“Unfortunately, this was not an abnormality,” Murphy said. “In Indiana, this is always a time with fluctuating temperatures.”
The week-long cool spell did finally come to an end on Friday, June 4. Forecasters have been predicting daily high temperatures in the 80s through at least the middle of June.
June 4 was also the first day for the 2021 Donner Jaime Miller Summer Invitational. The three-day swim meet hosted by the Donner Swim Club kept the facility off-limits for the entire first weekend of June.
“We had beautiful weather for the swim meet,” aquatics center director Jim Lemke said. “But as soon as Monday arrived, the clouds and the rain came right back.”
Attendance during public sessions was lower than normal through Wednesday, Lemke said.
“But we know it will pick up in the weeks ahead,” he added.
Pool officials say swimmers should check the immediate forecast before heading out to the pool.
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Donner Aquatic Center, 739 22nd St.
Public swim sessions
Monday thru Friday: 1 to 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sunday and Holidays: noon to 6 p.m.
Free Swim
Monday through Sunday: 5 to 6 p.m.
Fees
Adults 18 and over: $6
Children 6 to 17: $5
Child 3 to 5: $3
Child 2 or younger: Free
No season passes are being sold this year
Preschool Swim Time (for parents and children 6 and under)
Saturdays: 10 to 11 a.m. Cost is $1 per person
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