BUCKHANNON – From water aerobics to a new splash feature, summer is in full swing at the Upshur County pool.
The pool, which is located behind Buckhannon-Upshur High School, opened May 25 and is now in full operation with activities such as water aerobics and swim lessons.
Assistant county administrator Tabatha Perry said water aerobics happen every Monday and Wednesday — there’s no pre-registration, you just show up for the class, which runs from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. and costs $5.
Group swim lessons cost $50 per week and are offered from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. and 10:45 to 11:45 a.m. Monday through Friday. Private swim lessons are by appointment only and can be arranged by either contacting the pool at 304-472-5310 or the county commission office at 304-472-0535.
“When you call, you are added to a list to be contacted. Then the pool manager, Hannah, will get in touch and go over the assessment of the child, whether they are a beginner or intermediate swimmer, and then sign them up for however many days the guardian prefers,” Perry said.
The pool is open from noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday with an admission cost of $5 a person. After 3 p.m. the price drops to $3 and after 5 p.m. it costs $2. Sunday hours are 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and admission is $3.
A Family Night is held every Monday from 6 to 8 p.m.; admission is $3.
“We’ve opened up Monday evenings for Family Night to try to encourage more attendance during the evening, and then Tuesday through Sunday we have the evening blocked off for private for parties,” Perry said.
Some new additions to the pool include a new splash feature in the baby pool section that looks like Nemo, a new arcade area and several yard games that are free of charge, including large Connect Four and Cornhole.
Perry said the concession stand has stayed relatively the same and people are happy its back.
“We changed from corn dogs to hotdogs, but we serve a wide variety of ice cream novelties, pretzels, drinks, Gatorade and nachos,” she said. “The patrons of the pool seem really happy that the concession stand is open again, since it was closed for so long.”
Sunday is Family Fun Day, where admission is $3 all day.
Perry invited the community to check out the pool this summer.
“It’s very clean, it’s really beautiful and it’s a really large pool ,so it can accommodate a lot of people,” she said. “You don’t have to worry about showing up and not being able to have a place to sit or barely any room to swim. And it’s easy to keep an eye on your children, so you don’t have to worry as much.”
The pool is scheduled to close for the summer Aug. 10.
