(Sept. 8, 2016) Ocean Pines Aquatics will offer a “first glance” at the sports core indoor pool after the facility recently received a $250,000 facelift.
Residents and swimming members are invited to view the improvements on Saturday, Sept. 10 from 3-5 p.m. The pool will officially reopen on Monday, Sept. 12.
Aquatics Director Colby Phillips said work started at the pool on July 11, although prep work for the project began about a year ago. Phillips was heavily involved in the design work.
During the renovations, the pool interior surface was replaced with a Diamond Brite finish, the deck surface was replaced with a safer, rubberized surface, the old slide was replaced and given a spiral staircase entryway, and new entry stairs were added to the shallow end. All of the pumps and filters were also replaced, as well as light at the facility.
“It was just something that my team and I felt we needed, and seeing it there now it looks like it belongs, which is really cool,” Phillips said. “Everything’s pretty much new in there now. It’s all over beautiful.
“The two contract companies that we worked with, Pearl Pools out of Rockville and Pools & Spas out of Delaware, were just amazing. They worked so hard and got us done ahead of schedule,” she said. “Everyone worked together as a team, and it was pretty cool to be a part of, every day, to see that.
“Now, to see the final product is really exciting and we can’t wait to share it with the community,” she added.
Mark Henderson, president of Pools & Spas, said his company’s portion of the work took about five days and was not an atypical project for them. They recently performed similar renovations at the Modern Maturity Center in Dover, and are under contract for work at the Dover Air Force Base.
“We do insides of houses, basements, garages – we can even do logos,” he said.
In Ocean Pines, he said the most challenging part of adding the new rubberize surface was meeting with the design, which matches the green and blue patterns of the Ocean Pines logo.
“They came up with all these straight lines and patterns coming together, and the colors all matching. It was pretty intricate,” he said. “But we love it. It came out above what I thought it was going to come out.
“Colby actually picked the colors out and we weren’t sure how they were all going to look together, but I’m tickled to death with it,” he added. “It really comes to life with the blue overhead. If you’d seen it before it’s an amazing difference.”
Henderson said he couldn’t wait for the general population of swimmers to see how much the pool has changed.
“I think the public is going to love it. They’re not going to worry about their kids slipping and falling; they’re not going to worry about slipping and falling themselves,” he said. “It’s also comfortable to sit on, and the water disappears within the rubber and it will find its way to the drain without you even noticing it. I think we’re going to get some really good reviews from it, I really do.”
For swimmers, Phillips said the result is essentially “a more inviting atmosphere.”
“With the entry stairs, we hope that this will expand things a little bit for our younger and smaller guests,” she said. “It makes it feel more inviting when you walk in.”
The “first glance” is open only to pool members and Ocean Pines residents, and would be a “sneak peek” at the renovations, Phillips said.
Typically, the pool is open to the public. Swimming in the pool will resume on Monday.
“We wanted to give the residents and the pool members the first glance before we open back up,” Phillips said. “We can’t wait for everyone to see it.”
Residents and swimming members are invited to view the improvements on Saturday, Sept. 10 from 3-5 p.m. The pool will officially reopen on Monday, Sept. 12.
Aquatics Director Colby Phillips said work started at the pool on July 11, although prep work for the project began about a year ago. Phillips was heavily involved in the design work.
During the renovations, the pool interior surface was replaced with a Diamond Brite finish, the deck surface was replaced with a safer, rubberized surface, the old slide was replaced and given a spiral staircase entryway, and new entry stairs were added to the shallow end. All of the pumps and filters were also replaced, as well as light at the facility.
“It was just something that my team and I felt we needed, and seeing it there now it looks like it belongs, which is really cool,” Phillips said. “Everything’s pretty much new in there now. It’s all over beautiful.
“The two contract companies that we worked with, Pearl Pools out of Rockville and Pools & Spas out of Delaware, were just amazing. They worked so hard and got us done ahead of schedule,” she said. “Everyone worked together as a team, and it was pretty cool to be a part of, every day, to see that.
“Now, to see the final product is really exciting and we can’t wait to share it with the community,” she added.
Mark Henderson, president of Pools & Spas, said his company’s portion of the work took about five days and was not an atypical project for them. They recently performed similar renovations at the Modern Maturity Center in Dover, and are under contract for work at the Dover Air Force Base.
“We do insides of houses, basements, garages – we can even do logos,” he said.
In Ocean Pines, he said the most challenging part of adding the new rubberize surface was meeting with the design, which matches the green and blue patterns of the Ocean Pines logo.
“They came up with all these straight lines and patterns coming together, and the colors all matching. It was pretty intricate,” he said. “But we love it. It came out above what I thought it was going to come out.
“Colby actually picked the colors out and we weren’t sure how they were all going to look together, but I’m tickled to death with it,” he added. “It really comes to life with the blue overhead. If you’d seen it before it’s an amazing difference.”
Henderson said he couldn’t wait for the general population of swimmers to see how much the pool has changed.
“I think the public is going to love it. They’re not going to worry about their kids slipping and falling; they’re not going to worry about slipping and falling themselves,” he said. “It’s also comfortable to sit on, and the water disappears within the rubber and it will find its way to the drain without you even noticing it. I think we’re going to get some really good reviews from it, I really do.”
For swimmers, Phillips said the result is essentially “a more inviting atmosphere.”
“With the entry stairs, we hope that this will expand things a little bit for our younger and smaller guests,” she said. “It makes it feel more inviting when you walk in.”
The “first glance” is open only to pool members and Ocean Pines residents, and would be a “sneak peek” at the renovations, Phillips said.
Typically, the pool is open to the public. Swimming in the pool will resume on Monday.
“We wanted to give the residents and the pool members the first glance before we open back up,” Phillips said. “We can’t wait for everyone to see it.”