In recent news, University at Albany has made the decision to permanently close the pool located on campus to make way for new renovations to the Physical Education building where the pool is housed. This decision will negatively impact campus life as it takes away valuable recreational, practice space and employment for many students on campus. 

The pool is utilized by many different groups at UAlbany. We've been notified by lifeguards that even some D1 sports teams, such as football, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's track and field, and volleyball, make use of the aquatics center during practices. Club Swimming, which currently stands as UAlbany's 2nd largest club sport, relies on the pool for practice space. The university is working to find an off-campus location for club swim to practice, however, with 50+ members total and 30+ regularly attending members, having to hold practice off campus would make it difficult to find transportation for such a large team. As a club sport, practice is not mandatory, but the need to transport other students would make driving swimmers reliable to attend practice every time. The club worries that off-campus practice would decrease participation and recruitment due to inconvenience. Not having a home pool will also make it extremely difficult for the club to host swim meets, which is an important fundraiser for the club. The Muslim Student Association also makes use of the pool by hosting multiple women’s only Sister’s Events which would provide a safe space for Muslim female students to use the pool and socialize. A 6-week student swim lesson program, which provided revenue to campus recreation is also offered at the pool for students who wish to learn to swim in addition to other aquatic exercise classes. Currently, campus recreation employs 16 lifeguards who will be left without jobs due to the decision to close the pool. In addition, students, faculty members, and members of the greater Albany community that make use of the pool as a place to exercise would lose this resource.   

The decision to get rid of the pool was based on perceived usage, with an estimated average 18 swimmers per hour. Due to the fact that the pool gets used a lesser amount then other campus recreation facilities such as SEFCU gym, it was decided by UAlbany that the pool was not a priority to keep on campus. The numbers utilized to make this decision were based on swipes into the pool area during open swimming hours. Lifeguard working at the pool have noted that as not all swimmers swipe in upon arrival and these numbers do not account for everyone who uses the pool. For example, club swim that meets 4 times a week with 30-60 participating members are not required to swipe in, further showing the misrepresentation of these numbers.

A pool cannot be compared against a gym by usage because in most cases, a pool will almost always be utilized less than a gym. Not everyone is able to swim or seeks out that very particular sort of exercise. Still, the pool should not be removed due to the fact that it will displace the people who currently make frequent use of it.  

With this petition, we hope to prove what an important aspect of campus life the pool plays and how it benefits a diverse amount of student groups. We would like to urge UAlbany try to formulate the new Physical Education building renovations in a way that allows the pool to stay on campus as is.