Community Corner
Chattahoochee GOLD Swim Team Applauds Aquatics Center Decision
The Chattahoochee GOLD Swim Team Coach is excited about the County Commissioners' vote Tuesday night.
“More water is good water,” says Cherokee County resident Mark Schilling.
The Team Coach is excited about the County Commissioners’ vote Tuesday night to approve the construction contract of a new $15 million swim facility in Holly Springs.
“As a year-round competitive swim team, Chattahoochee GOLD is highly aware of the county’s struggle to provide enough pool space for summer league and high school swim teams. We see this move as a break through that will allow more kids to participate in the sport of swimming.”
He goes on to say, “No Cherokee County High Schools were built with a competitive swimming pool. Back in 1995, (when he was on his high school swim team) Cherokee County teams had to travel to Cobb County facilities and train from 3:45-5 a.m.! Now high school teams train at costly near-by gyms or here at the Woodstock Aquatic Center, but competitive county meets still have to be held out of the county!”
Schilling admits that the new pool could be viewed by some as a competitor to the Chattahoochee GOLD training sight at the Woodstock Aquatics center. But he is quick to add, “GOLD Team owner, Pat Murphy, is hard at work to secure the new pool as an additional practice sight for GOLD. We hope to work in partnership with the new facility.”
GOLD has recently struck a similar deal with a new swim facility in Cumming, in addition to their long established training sights at the Mountain View Aquatics Center in Cobb County and the Woodstock Aquatics Center in downtown Woodstock. Chattahoochee GOLD showed its support of the new pool with nearly 75 team and family members at Tuesday’s commissioner’s meeting.
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“It should also be noted,” adds Schilling, “that the Woodstock Aquatic Center will still be the county’s largest swim lesson facility. We have just completed a new $250,000 swim lesson pool that will open before the end of the year. This will help better serve younger swimmers in Cherokee and near-by northern Fulton County and Cobb County through our Gold Swim Lessons program.
The new project, located at Gresham Mill Parkway at Sixes Road, was approved and funded as a part of Cherokee County’s Parks, Recreation and Green Space Bond that passed in November 2008. Groundbreaking for the Holly Springs facility is set for November with a completion date and grand opening targeted for April 2013.
