Mayor McGinn’s 2nd West Seattle stop: Southwest Pool celebration

March 23, 2013 5:36 pm
|    Comments Off on Mayor McGinn’s 2nd West Seattle stop: Southwest Pool celebration
 |   West Seattle news | WS & Sports

“A dream come true” is how a new Southwest Pool women-only swimming program was described at a special event this afternoon thanking Mayor McGinn for supporting it. It was his second stop in West Seattle, after an hour-plus walking tour and roundtable in The Admiral District (coverage of that, coming up). Above, the mayor received a thank-you photo from Denise Sharify of Neighborhood House, which has long supported women’s-only swims (including some held as private rentals), to support women whose culture prohibits mixed-gender swimming. A new program of women’s swims on Saturday afternoons, followed by women’s swimming lessons, starts next month. The staff will be all-female, and the pool windows are covered, as was in evidence today

The lesson component is an important addition – so that more people can learn how to swim, vital, as the mayor noted, in a city surrounded by water. (We’ll add video later with his comments and those of three of the women who advocated for the program.) Parks Superintendent Christopher Williams and other dignitaries including former 12-year State Rep. Velma Veloria were among those on hand for the celebration, which included refreshments.

Here’s a flyer with the schedule for the SW Pool programs as well as two other pools in the city that plan to have it on Saturdays, beginning April 6th. And yes, today’s visit was the reason for this sign outside the pool and neighboring SW Teen Life Center:

P.S. Neighborhood House issued a news release with more background on the event and its pioneering involvement with the swim programs:

Neighborhood House’s Be Active Together (BAT) program and swim participants would like to thank Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and Seattle Parks and Recreation officials for offering single-gender swim programs in 2013. In the spring of 2013, the City of Seattle will begin to offer single-gender swim programs at Southwest, Medgar Evers and Meadowbrook community pools, following BAT’s model of affordability and meeting community needs. A fourth single-gender swim program will begin at Rainier Beach Pool in the fall of 2013.

Neighborhood House’s Be Active Together (BAT) program explored single-gender swim programs at local pools beginning in February of 2010 to help expand exercise opportunities for women who cannot swim in a co-ed environment because of cultural, religious or personal reasons. BAT’s Women of the World Swim has provided access to swimming to over 400 women ages 12 to 70 and who come from diverse cultural backgrounds. The program has greatly contributed to water safety, as a majority of participants didn’t know how to swim when they joined. Some have also registered their children for swim lessons for the first time. BAT’s funding ends in 2013 and this popular program was at risk of being canceled. In response to the need to continue to offer this important program for Seattle’s women, Mayor McGinn decided to adopt it at four of the city’s pools.

No Replies to "Mayor McGinn's 2nd West Seattle stop: Southwest Pool celebration"

    Sorry, comment time is over.