Deck replacement problems changed timeline, forcing girls swim team to other sites
Practice for the Hinsdale Central girls swim and dive team didn’t start out the way athletes or their coaches hoped on Monday.
Instead of meeting at the school’s Don Watson Aquatic Center, they were at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont. Crews are still working to replace the tile deck at the 3-year-old pool at Central, which has been closed since May 1. Work is expected to continue into early October.
Hinsdale High School District 86 Superintendent Mike Lach offered an update at the Aug. 8 school board meeting.
“It’s not good news,” Lach said. “I ask the team every day, ‘What can we do to make this go faster?’ I think we’re doing everything we can.”
Varsity girls head coach Bob Barber told The Hinsdalean Tuesday that almost 80 girls are trying out for the team.
“I’m very pleased we didn’t scare them away with our new potential calendar,” he said.
The team will practice in the mornings in Westmont this week and next and then move to evening practices from 6 to 8 p.m. at Hinsdale South.
When students return to class for a full day Friday, morning practices will start at 5:30 a.m. for the junior varsity team and occasionally for varsity swimmers.
“The school is very supportive on offering transportation and trying to help kids drive to school, if they can, because parking is such a limited thing around here,” Barber said.
Divers might need to practice at Downers Grove North or South high schools.
“We’re probably using, I think, three to four pools to fulfill our needs,” he said.
Barber, who has two daughters on the team this year, said he feels for the athletes who are losing their senior year experience at their home pool.
“I’m hoping that we get back to the pool for a senior night (scheduled for Oct. 11) and hopefully for taper meets,” he said. “They deserve that.”
But the girls are doing their best to make the most of a situation that is out of their control. They’re trying to find new ways to bond, their coach said.
“They’re jokingly thinking about doing carpool karaoke competitions,” Barber said. “I just require that the car is parked when they do it.”
Central will hold its Kendall Pickering Invite Aug. 31 at the FMC in Westmont, with diving at Hinsdale South. The team’s dual meets have been moved to opponents’ pools, according to the district’s FAQ webpage at http://www.hinsdale86.org/our-district/future-ready-facilities/pool-faq.
Teachers of physical education classes that typically use the pool will modify their curriculums to focus on classroom instruction.
“No licensure or certification will be affected,” the FAQ states.
One parent of a Hinsdale Central senior on the team expressed his frustration at the board meeting that the pool will not be open until two full months into a three-month season. And if additional delays occur, the team will have to hold its senior night at another school.
“This is ridiculous,” Wayne Driscoll said.
Facilities committee member Jeff Waters sympathized with parents and offered reassurance that officials have been trying to solve the problem.
“I absolutely recognize the frustration of the community and swim families, but I also wanted to acknowledge the hard work the administration has done with the cohorts supporting the projects,” Waters said.
When the pool closed May 1 to address tented and cracked tiles and rebuild the Dectron dehumidification unit, officials expected the work would be finished before the start of school. But after multiple attempts to repair the deck, the district hired a company to investigate and was told the deck required a full replacement. Work began before school ended in May, but difficulties arose when crews tried to bond the concrete overlay to the structural slab.
“Several attempts during summer 2024 to chemically bond the new layer of concrete failed, which resulted in a shift to mechanically bond the new layer,” the webpage states.
That work began Aug. 7, and construction teams are working six days a week to meet the new Oct. 7 deadline, the page states. The costs to replace the deck, including the investigation and legal fees, will be paid for by the architect, construction manager and contractor. The district will have to pay for time at the FMC Natatorium and will lose rental fees from outside groups that had reserved the Central pool.
Facilities committee members will discuss the concrete pour schedule and overall schedule when they meet tomorrow, Aug. 16. Meanwhile, the team will continue to focus on its upcoming season.
“No pool, no problem,” Barber quipped. “We’ll get it done.”
