Our Readers Write: Point Loma aquatics complex

Letter to the editor:

Point Loma is long overdue for a new aquatics complex

Ever wonder where Point Loma High School’s girls and boys water polo teams practice and play their home games?

That’s an interesting question and probably one that most people don’t know the answer to. The answer is Memorial Pool at 2902 Marcy Ave. If you Google that address, you’ll see it is nowhere near Point Loma. So, five days a week during the season, the athletes have to either find a ride or drive 20 to 25 minutes to Logan Heights to participate in a sport they like.

They do not have the luxury of all the other sports or extracurricular activities to walk no more than 15 minutes to their practices or home games in Point Loma. The pool that the city allows Point Loma to use is only allocated two hours for practice a day. Most other sports have dedicated two-hour practices for each of their teams, across all high schools.

Over the years there have been a number of school improvements and field additions or upgrades. No one is trying to take anything away from any other sport or activity that the high schoolers participate in, it is merely the question of equality across all extracurricular activities.

There has been a plan for years to construct an aquatics complex at Liberty Station; it was part of the planning when the redesign of Liberty Station began. It was a great idea that would have benefited far more people and kids than just those who attend Point Loma High School and its feeder schools. High Tech High and Middle School could develop an aquatics program, Point Loma Nazarene University could have that opportunity as well and the community would benefit from a state-of-the-art aquatics center that would attract more tourism and local use.

However, this plan has stalled for years. There have been plenty of meetings and head-nodding, but a shovel has not broken ground. If you look north to Long Beach, specifically the Belmont aquatics complex, you can see an example of quality teamwork between the community and the elected officials.

Pools are expensive, but they can be money generators also. Tournaments and usage fees can help offset the costs. Adding a pool, long overdue in Point Loma, would be a benefit to the community, bringing together more folks and offering that option to others who would not have the opportunity.

Other schools in SDUSD [San Diego Unified School District] are having pools built near their campuses to support the aquatics programs that would include female and male teams. The focus should be on moving forward, breaking ground and constructing a new pool or aquatics center to support the local teams and community.

It is far past time to end having 52-plus student-athletes not being afforded the same opportunity that their fellow student-athletes are provided.

Jeff Nolan

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Letters published in the Point Loma-OB Monthly express views from readers about community matters. Submissions of related photos also are welcome. Letters reflect the writers’ opinions and not necessarily those of the newspaper staff or publisher. Letters are subject to editing for brevity, clarity and accuracy. To share your thoughts in this public forum, email them with your first and last names and city or neighborhood of residence to robert.vardon@lajollalight.com. Letters without the writer’s name cannot be published.