Pooled Resources | With No Place to Swim Competitively, Upper Valley Parents Built Their Own

In seven short years, the Upper Valley Aquatic Center has grown from gleams in the eyes of some parents to a world-class facility for training, competition, and rehabilitation.

It all started in 2004, when some Upper Valley parents bemoaned the lack of competitive facilities for their young swimmers. Their dreams for such a place began to come true when one anonymous donor made a large financial contribution, and another donated a desirable piece of land on Arboretum Lane in White River Junction. A board of directors formed, and in February 2009, the center opened its doors, and swimmers young and old, beginners and strong competitors, have been walking through those doors ever since.

The Upper Valley Aquatic Center is 38,000 square feet over two floors and features two pools and locker rooms separated into adult and caregiver sections, in addition to a small changing area for families. Up to 450 spectators can watch competitions in a set of spacious bleacher seats.

The crown jewel of the facility is a 25-by-25-meter competition pool, equipped with state-of-the-art electronic pads and large screens that clearly show readouts. It has become the host site for the New England Championship for youth swimmers as well as the Vermont Swim Association’s Governor’s Cup. The newly formed Upper Valley Triathlon Team trains there, as does Olympic hopeful Sarah Groff, of Hanover, N.H.

However, the UVAC is not just about competitive athletics. Youth and senior programming give the center a real community feel. Using the Swim America curriculum, the center provides free lessons to second graders from Hartford, Quechee, Wilder, and White River Junction, in partnership with the Hartford Parks and Recreation Department. Approximately 150 youngsters have taken part in these eight-week sessions. In addition, the UVAC has just begun a formal scholarship program (after three years of unofficial donations) to provide day passes and memberships for those referred to the center by social service agencies.

At UVAC, youth programs coexist with the senior outreach programs run through the Bugbee Senior Center in Hartford. For instance, the youngest kids can play in a splash park, and older folks and those rehabilitating from injuries can take advantage of a warm pool, which is ideal for physical therapy. In addition, the facility hosts a youth team with 170 students and a Masters program called the Upper Valley Stingrays, which has roughly 100 swimmers. (The Masters racers recently broke 15 different records at a regional event!)

Lisa Vallejo Sorenson, communications director for UVAC, said much thought was put into the pools’design.

“Our primary mission,” Vallejo Sorenson said, “was to offer a place for people to swim competitively, but we also wanted a place to teach safety. The warm pool offers a place for families to play together, as well as a forum for physical therapy.” Now that they have done this, in the upcoming years, the UVAC hopes to increase their scholarship fund, add additional indoor and outdoor fitness programs, and partner with Upper Valley area recreation programs to add more children’s programming.

Robin Asbury is a UVAC member who has seen both sides of the pool. As a founding member of the Upper Valley Triathlon Team, she trains in the competitive pool, but in 2010 she was injured in a bike crash and found herself using the warm pool as part of her rehabilitation.

Asbury was so inspired by the rehab process at the pool that she has begun raising money for the UVAC scholarship program.

“It was empowering to watch the kids in wheelchairs,” she said, “and see them light up with the freedom of movement when they got in the water. I decided to put my energy into raising money for kids who can’t afford to swim here.”

Asbury praised the center for its wholehearted support of the triathlon team, as well as its role in shaping her athletic career. She said that outside regular lessons, she has had coaches take her aside and spend time helping her hone her technique, often bringing her to the warm pool for work on specific movements. Asbury isn’t the only one in her family with a positive experience at the UVAC. When her 9-year-old daughter had to write an essay for school about “someone she could count on,” she chose her UVAC swim teacher.

In the warm pool, Asbury had the opportunity to watch staff work with the younger kids. “They show empathy,” she said “but they also challenge the kids and make it competitive.” There are facilities that are closer to Asbury’s Andover, N.H., home, but she prefers to drive 45 minutes to UVAC. “It’s a real community,” she said. “It’s authentic. I see UVAC transforming lives and making opportunities possible by nurturing, challenging, and empowering.”