Bobby Guntoro is the head coach for UNCW swimming and diving. He’s also the founder of Wilmington Swim Academy, the Aquahawks year-round team, and this summer, for the first time, he’ll be coaching summer league.
He, his wife, and his three kids consistently visit the city’s public pools, including the Robert Strange, Legion, and Earl Jackson facilities.
“We don't belong to any country club or community pools or anything. The only neighborhood pool that we go to is a city pool, and we will ride our bike over there, and that’s where we taught our kids how to swim,” he said.
Guntoro said he’d like expanded hours at public pools for working families who often get off work around 5 p.m.
Christina Niggl is a mom of two. She’d also like increased access to public pools throughout the year to teach kids to swim, since the ocean isn’t ideal for that.
“It's so hard to monitor how they're doing, how deep they are, all of those things, where you can monitor that a lot better at a pool, and then you know what kind of skills they have before they go into the ocean,” she said.
While Legion and Robert Strange, which are staffed and run by the YMCA, close by the end of September, Earl Jackson, run by NSEA Swim, stays open year-round — The Endowment funded a bubble, basically a covering allowing it to remain open in cooler months. Christina’s son Justus said he wants extended hours there so he can swim after school.
“And when I was like four, I learned how to swim. And then during those three years, I kind of forgot how to swim, then I relearned how to swim at Earl Jackson,” he said.
The City of Wilmington’s yearly contract with the YMCA is around $143,000, which includes utility costs. The city also provides $6,000 for routine maintenance for the three pools it owns, including Earl Jackson.
Legion and Robert Strange got fresh paint last year, and this summer, according to City Councilman David Joyner, they're set to receive new fencing worth $100,000. The older ones had some barbed wire around the pools.
“The new fences are going to be black, decorative aluminum, and they're just sort of going to be rods that go straight up and then curve out. It's just going to be a better appeal. It's going to look more friendly and welcoming,” he said.
NSEA Swim runs Earl Jackson for a contract of $175,000 over three years and hires its lifeguards.
New Hanover County spends about $121,000 to run the Echo Farms pool each summer, including staffing for lifeguards.
Allie Dodman grew up in Wilmington and takes her family to the public pools.
“We don't really see ourselves joining a club at the moment, because it is expensive, and we would also really prefer to be able to support a public pool, and that just works on good, consistent hours, and is reasonable to get to, that would be our preference,” she said.
Community leaders are hearing their concerns about the expanded summer hours for the city pools staffed by the YMCA. Wilmington councilman David Joyner said they should consider it.
“I know that one thing our parks and rec department has been supportive of is saying, ‘Hey, if the Y can staff it up more hours, we can keep it open more hours.’ [...] And I don't think the city's budgetary impact would be that big. I don't think it would be a deal breaker at all to try and get that expanded,” he said.
Josh Gravette is the executive director of the NIR Family YMCA. He wrote in an email that there will be some family swim evenings after 5 p.m., but the organization also has to balance other swim teams, summer camps, lessons, and other groups and events. He said they’re open to working with the city to extend some of these hours.
In response to community concerns over staffing shortages last year, Gravette said, “Lifeguard shortages are a national issue that YMCAs and local municipalities are working on a national scale to address. Wilmington is not immune. I am very confident in the preparation of our Aquatics Department this summer to have the Robert Strange Pool adequately staffed.”
He added that there will be emergencies when there might not be enough lifeguards, and they will have to close during weather events. They must close pools during thunderstorms for at least 30 minutes after hearing the last thunder or if lightning is within 10 miles.
Another community member, Nicki Angle, who lives close to downtown, said, that while she’d like to see more consistency with public staffing and hours, she hopes local developers will start building more neighborhood pools, as she grew up around one.
“We miss that community aspect, a place for people to meet and get to know your neighbors. And I feel like neighborhoods do not have that; it just seemed like it wasn't a priority when they were creating these neighborhoods,” she said.
There are two proposals for Olympic-sized pools in the county — the Wilmington Aquatic Center and Optimism Oasis — that are a long way off, and funding plans have yet to be hashed out and made public.
Guntoro said public officials should focus on what’s available now, and these city pools could use some “massive renovations.”
“We're going to talk about more access for the community to use the pool, and therefore we need new big pools, okay, valid, because Wilmington is growing, but I'm also on the other side: ‘Well, what do we have currently, and how do we manage the current assets we have to provide for the community?’”
Guntoro added, “Change is hard, but change is good. I think I am proposing for all of us as a community to sit down, ‘Okay, here's what's been going on, what's happening, is there anything we can do better?’ Adjustment is always needed.”
City and county officials say the public should consult the pools’ respective websites, social media, and apps for hours of operation and entry costs.
Information on public access to NHC area pools
Robert Strange's hours and costs (City-owned, Run by YMCA, Summer Swim League Narwhals YMCA)
- Water fitness classes for all ages from 5:30-6:30 (Robert Strange)
Legion Stadium’s hours and costs (City-owned, Run by YMCA, Summer Swim League Stingrays)
Earl Jackson’s hours and costs (City-owned, Run by NSEA Swim)
Echo Farms’ hours and costs (Owned and Run by New Hanover County Parks and Gardens)
- Group fitness classes
- Check closures on Facebook or Instagram on the NHC Parks and Gardens page
YWCA public hours and costs, (Has a summer swim league, the Barracudas)
