WA’s Historic Pool: Its Legacy and Plans to Modernize

Built 105 years ago, the Worcester Academy swimming pool produces great things for WA students. Being the oldest indoor pool in New England, the WA pool brings character to the Worcester Academy campus. I was fortunate to meet with Headmaster Mr. Cino to talk about future plans for the pool and possibly a new one. 

I asked Mr. Cino, “What significance does the pool have to the WA community?”, he gladly explained that “we have a great swim program that has produced all kinds of great things for our students, we’ve got obvious demonstrations of that, through things like academic all Americans and all the wonderful plaques that hang on the wall.” He also adds that the pool is part of the school’s history and is something we should be proud of as a community.

He went on to say some of the great features that come with the pool like, the amazing summer programs that use it during the day over various weeks of July. He mentions coach Barbra Gould who has earned a great name for herself not only as the head swim coach but in the classroom, too. He concluded that not only the pool itself but the swimmers that use it have built a strong community that attracts all different athletes for the winter season. 

I then went on to ask Mr. Cino, “As a community, do you think we would benefit from a new pool?”, and he replied, “Definitely. I think as a community one of the challenges of the current indoor athletic space is we’ve got an amazing outdoor athletic facility that matches up with just about any school. I think the indoor athletic space has some current limitations that don’t always fully allow us to explore community wellness.” He also acknowledged an important part of the swimming program that most people don’t know. Some schools refuse to swim at our pool because of the condition it is in. However, it is an important historical facility that is one of the areas that we can improve on.

The final question I asked Mr. Cino is, “Is there a plan in the near future for a new pool?” He answered, “One of the things that we are exploring, that is part of our master planning process, is the possible construction of a new indoor athletic facility.” He went on to say that it is something that is often talked about with various levels of leadership and some of our key donors. He said that there wasn’t a full plan quite yet but it is part of the master planning process.

I am grateful that I got to meet with Mr. Cino to discuss the future for the Worcester Academy pool and its wonderful history. As a swimmer, I think we would greatly benefit from a new swimming facility because it opens up a lot of new opportunities for Worcester Academy and not just the swim team.