Thanks to Lyle Campbell for contributing to this report.
The King County Aquatic Center was reopened last week after undergoing significant mechanical and structural enhancements over the last few weeks beginning in early August.
The pool, built for the 1990 Goodwill Games held in Seattle, will has the Junior Winter National Championships from December 10th-13th.
Among the upgrades for the project include new high-efficiency HVAC units, new boilers for the pool, lighting upgrades, and solar-electric-generating-panels on the roof of the building, all of which were needs identified during an energy audit.
The upgrades were funded by almost a million dollars in grants ($975,000) from the Washington Department of Energy, and the hope is that the improvements will reduce energy use while providing a better meet experience overall with more fresh air in the main natatorium and better lighting.
The new pool will get its first test when it hosts the Washington State Girls High School Swimming & Diving Championships on November 14th and 15th, though that meet isn’t expected to be nearly the size of Winter Juniors. That meet in December will test the limits of any existing HVAC system, and that will be the one by which the performance of the upgrades will be measured.
UPCOMING EVENTS
– Nov 14-15 Washington State Girls HS Swim/Dive Champs
– Nov 16 Pacific Northwest Swimming “Q” Meet
– Dec 4-7 Husky Invitational Swim Meet
– Dec 10-13 USA Swimming Speedo Jr National Swim Meet
– Dec 14 National Long Course Time Trials
– Dec 18-21 Pacific Northwest Swimming SC Championship
Husky Invite is one of the best December Invites available. Fast meet, great atmosphere well run and fantastic faculty. Very happy for the improvements and glad the pool is back up and running.