Just Keep Swimming

The Westwood High School Complex is the location for some summer fun away from the sun. The indoor pool, available for residents who pay a membership fee to the recreation program, can enjoy open swimming and lap swimming every day of the week. For a daily trip without a membership, a single person pays only five dollars.

In addition to the open and lap swim availabilities, aquatics manager Sue Perry said she offers a large variety of programs throughout the year for every level of swimmer.

For parents hoping to give their babies a little taste of what it’s like to be in the water, the water babies class is for nine to 12-month-olds. Both the parent and the baby can explore the water and learn some beginning fundamentals. From there, a preschool class is available to help toddlers get acclimated to being in water. Students continue to hone and build their skills in the water in the five different levels of classes.

Perry said there is also lifeguard training, and lifeguard instructor training.

“We also offer swimming for those with physical limitations like cerebral palsy. The class is suited for those who have challenges intellectually or behaviorally,” she said. “It’s a class for those who may not be suited for a group swim, but still would like to be in the water. It’s a very popular program, I love it.”

Perry said the department is willing to work with anyone who has a limitation.

Springboard diving, water aerobics, private lessons, and a class called aquanots are also available at the pool. The pool even has two different swim teams, the winter one that includes 220-240 swimmers and a summer league with 80-100 swimmers.

Basically, Perry said, “we’re open to every level of swimmer, from beginners to advanced.” The swimmers range in ages from several months old to over 90 years old, so every spectrum of activity levels, ages and physical abilities is included in the Westwood swimming programs.

Besides offering athletic activity, Perry said, being in the water provides a lot more.

“The water is very supportive, both physically, but also socially,” she said. “It’s a light, happy environment.”

Perry said one woman who enjoys going to the pool told her once, “the water embraces me like my mother did when I was young. I couldn’t laugh like this at the office.”

“It was great to hear her verbalize it. I see what she is feeling in other people,” Perry said. For people dealing with issues at home, whatever they may be, Perry said, the water is a place to come and de-stress.

It also offers people a chance to come and socialize, Perry said, as she sees many people come in and light up in the water. “They laugh, they make friends they ordinarily wouldn’t make elsewhere,” she said. “It’s where a young mother can meet a grandmother who has so much knowledge about raising kids, where top executives meet someone who may work in a cafeteria. You just meet people you wouldn’t meet anywhere else.”

Perry said in general, having the pool is magical. She really sees the help it provides the people who come in.

“For people who come here who are losing or have lost spouses, it helps them. It gives them a slice of heaven,” she said. “This pool is just a tremendous resource for the community.”

Perry said the Westwood town pool is open to non-residents too, since many surrounding towns don’t have one.

“You can come here and feel like a human being. You’re giving people a life skill, and we talk safety on the beach, at home, at a pool, and we give them a complex set of safety skills. It’s so fulfilling and gratifying,” she said.

In the fall, Perry is offering some new programs to increase the already expansive programming at the Westwood town pool. 

A Masters class will be offered for a workout and training for those swimmers who are no longer just beginners and want some heavier physical activity.

For those training for a triathlon, the pool will be open specifically for a program to train those interested in competing and honing their swimming skills. There will also be a kids triathlon club. Fro more information on the town pool, visit the Westwood Recreation website.