Tulane swim, dive lacks access to pool while awaiting renovations
March 16, 2022
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tulane University’s Campus Recreation announced the closing of the natatorium and social pool in March 2020. According to the Campus Recreation website, the pandemic halted renovations that were underway.
Consequently, all aquatic sports, including Tulane’s Swim and Dive team, Water Polo and other activities are suspended and do not have a facility to practice in, still awaiting the new renovation.
Mya Drost-Parra, a member of Tulane’s Division I Women’s Swim and Dive team shared her experience after the closing of the pool.
Despite the team not having a secure practice facility, Drost-Parra shared that the team finished third in the American Athletic Conference but said she felt “a little bit of disappointment within the athletic department with the expectations that [she] had” when entering Tulane as a freshman at a DI college.
She expressed excitement to have a “home base” to practice, have swim meets and volunteer with her team on Saturdays teaching swimming lessons to children.
When asked about what it is like traveling to other facilities for practice and meets, Drost-Parra shared that the extra time the team takes to travel has a heavy impact on “[their] mental health and academic success.”
According to Drost-Parra, the team travels extra hours out of the week in addition to a 20-hour practice week.
She said that the athletic department has “financially supported [them]” while they hear the concerns of the team, but she shared that it is a matter of “whether or not they’re going to take action.”
According to Drost-Parra, the team created a petition with the intention of getting their concerns heard. Although the team is thankful for the athletic department’s financial support, Drost-Parra said that it is a question of “who [the athletic department] is prioritizing.”
The petition has received over 2,000 signatures, and the team has had a few meetings with the Athletic Director at Tulane to voice their concerns.
Campus Recreation has yet to share a timeline for the pool’s completion. Although the Reily Recreation Center closed in 2020 due to COVID-19, Tulane University has lifted the indoor mask mandate, and the Reily Center has returned to normal operations.
Renovations on the natatorium began after an assessment in 2018 by Consilman Hunsaker’s Aquatics for Life. The assessment found that the “Pool finish, bulkhead condition, air quality and pool water treatment systems were all found to be in poor condition.”
Following this assessment, Counsilman Hunsaker “[provided] maintenance and operational services” in the natatorium which consisted of three phases.
While the current renovations along with the pandemic take effect on the aquatic programs here at Tulane, the Swim 4 Success organization was also suspended which was devastating to students and volunteers who enjoyed this program. The Swim 4 Success program offered “free swimming lessons to low-income New Orleans youth.”
Drost-Parra said that it has been difficult for the team to “find other ways to get back to the community” since the closing of the pool.
This year marks the two years since the pool closed. Natatorium renovations remain in the design phase, as an architect, construction teams and Campus Recreation draft its future. The timeline for the finalization of the renovation is unclear, but updates are anticipated on the Campus Recreation website.
Shame on Tulane • Mar 21, 2022 at 6:37 pm
Not even remotely close to the full story. Just a summary of the petition. This has nothing to do with Covid and entirely to do with university not supporting student-athletes, especially a womens sport. This article is embarrassingly inept and unresearched. Should be completely re-written with the FULL story including years of lies and a coach that just quit as a result. Some attorney should look into a Title IX lawsuit. This is truly a national embarrassment as it made swimswam.com which is a national swim and dive website.
Embarrassing • Mar 21, 2022 at 6:05 pm
This is not even 10% of the real story. The student-athletes and coaches have been lied to for years and this started pre-Covid. No one will take responsibility, the university refuses to tell anyone the truth. Nothing is happening. They’ve been telling people they’re at 95% done with the architecture and contract for 2 years!!! It’s completely embarrassing for a school with as much money as Tulane to not be able to a) get the pool renovated in 3 years and b) tell the truth and quit lying to everyone. They just lost a coach due to this embarrassment. This has made national news in the swim and dive world. This article and author should’ve done more research rather than just re-stating the petition. Can anyone say Title IX lawsuit waiting to happen?
Deedub • Mar 17, 2022 at 10:29 am
It is telling that the party line is now blaming Covid for the pool. Let’s remember that Tulane was able to construct outdoor class spaces during the same time that pool renovations were supposedly stopped. In fact, no repairs were ever commenced and the athletic director wouldn’t even commit to whether the pool would be repaired, replaced or never reopened.
Also, know that prospective swimmers who visited Tulane in the 2019-2020 year were never told that the pool would be closed in the near future, a fact that would have most certainly affected the decisions on whether to attend.
Shame on you.