October
news & updates
October 15, 2020
SPLASHForward Report Available & Community Virtual Meeting
With the health and wellness of our communities at the very forefront of our lives and public pools with limited to no availability, we could not be more invested in our commitment to laying the foundation for new public aquatics facilities and access for everyone especially those in most need of affordable aquatics opportunities especially Learn to Swim.


This comprehensive report, at just over 200 pages, represents over two years worth engagement with our stakeholders and potential partners and an in depth analysis of our community's aquatic needs and market analysis. Thank you tremendously to those of you who have made this work possible through either financial support or have shared your time and input with us. It has been a pleasure building our relationship with you.

Included is our SPLASHForward preferred health and aquatic center design that we believe is 'right-sized' for serving Bellevue and our Eastside communities. We invite you to read the report to better understand what a 'right-sized' regional aquatic center means, the proposed programming that meets our community's needs and our in depth operational modeling that includes a thorough revenue analysis and budget projections as well as an event model and economic impact analysis. Our report will help make the case for public/private partnerships, broad based funding, and operational sustainability that are critical to successfully realizing much needed new public aquatic facilities. 

We hope you can join us on Tuesday, October 27th for a Community Virtual Meeting for an overview and discussion of our report and latest project updates. See below.

We look forward to your continued engagement and support as we lay the foundation to bring all of our aquatic and community wellness visions to reality in new public aquatic facilities.

We are stronger together
SPLASHForward Community Virtual Meeting
Save the Date - Tuesday, October 27th
Join us online for an up close look at our report, the latest project updates, and discussion of our next steps. Our aquatics consultant, Stu Isaac of Isaac Sports Group, and Board president Susan Pappalardo will be live and be available for questions.

Watch for an invitation with video link to join the virtual meeting starting at 6:30pm. Please forward this newsletter to others and have them sign up for our newsletter to receive our invitation.
BELLEVUE - Aquatic Center open for lap swim & therapy
Get back in the pool!
Bellevue Aquatic Center's Blue Lagoon is now taking reservations for public lap swim with expanded hours starting at 8am. As of Oct 8th, COVID guidelines now allow 2 people per lane to swim past each other and maintain social distance during rest periods.

Warm Springs pool is reservation only for independent water exercise and warm water therapy.

Blue Lagoon Pool: 8am-4pm M-F
Warm Springs Pool: 10am-4pm M-F
Both Pools: 8am-12pm Sat

Reserve your spot one week in advance.

Register or call 425-452-4444
SEATTLE - Proposed 2021 Budget & Impact to Public Pools
Six of Ten Public Pools to Remain Closed in 2021
Mayor Durkin's proposed 2021 Seattle Budget Plan sadly includes opening only 4 of Seattle's 10 public pools in 2021 due to the staggering budget impacts of COVID. To remain open are Southwest, Rainer Beach, Meadowbrook and Medgar Evers Pools.

Any pool closure, even if temporary, in an already starved public aquatics facility eco-system has tremendous ripple effects. These temporary pool closures will be the last hope in some of our youth’s aquatic experiences and for many a closed door before they even get started with learning to swim. Not to mention the many adult, senior and special needs programming that will be put on hold. Our community's physical and mental health are greatly impacted without access to public aquatics facilities.

We are watching the budget process closely and will alert our aquatics community if there are any opportunities to support opening any of these facilities.

For the budget details:

Photos below show the proposed six pool closures in 2021 until normal operations can resume.
KING COUNTY - Aquatic Center Grants Program Legislation Passes
King County Council Approves Park Levy Grant Programs
In mid-September, we took one step closer to stacking the funding sources for future new public aquatics centers in our region. King County Council passed the legislation which includes the fine print for the $44M Aquatic Center Grants Program.

THANK YOU to the King County Council for their actions and a special thank you to Councilmember Rod Dembowski (far right) for his sponsorship & to King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci (center with scarf) for her continued and dedicated support for a regional effort on the Eastside.

An Advisory Committee will form and the grant application window is expected to open in early 2021. The six year clock then begins for us to be ready on the starting line with our efforts for a regional scale public aquatic center in Bellevue and additional facilities in the region. Go!
WA STATE - Oct 6th WA Safe Start Guideline Update
Changes that Effect Pools
  • Much broader opening for pools. Except activity pools with play features and water contact facilities
  • Occupancy based on square footage with 50 person max (if feasible)
  • Swim instructors w/ beginner swimmers can break 6ft for a max of 5min with specific mask requirements
  • Open swim allowed
  • Appointments required. One person per lane recommended but no more than two, unless from the same household or swimmer requires a caretaker. This allows two people from different households in the same lane.
SPLASHForward - Diversity & Inclusion in Aquatics
A recent Diversity & Inclusion in Our Pools discussion w/ Dr. Freeman A. Hrabowski of UMBC and coaches of color.
Building Aquatics Pathways
SPLASHForward is not only participating in the conversation about improving Diversity & Inclusion in our pools, but also formulating our vision to create 'aquatics pathways' for those that do not have access to aquatics today, can't afford memberships to our existing pools or have parents and guardians that don't know how to swim as we lay the foundation for new public pools. It will take thoughtful programming and partnerships and we have begun on this important work.

We are including the voice of Diversity & Inclusion on the ground floor. If you or someone you know wants to add their voice, contact us to further the conversation.

Watch for more in on this important topic in a future newsletter and on our social media platforms.
Welcome Seattle Mermaids
We warmly welcome the Seattle Mermaids as our latest endorser. Mermaids & Mermen love deep water & we are thrilled to add their voice to our efforts!
Is your organization interested or do you know one that would like to endorse or support our efforts?
SPLASHForward has earned a 2020 GuideStar Gold Seal of Transparency. Check out our non-profit profile on GuideStar (now part of Candid).
October Microsoft Employee Giving Campaign
Do you work at Microsoft?
Microsoft has a strong history of supporting it's employee's passion for giving with matching donations of time and money year-round.

During the month of October, Microsoft employee's donate to organizations through the Employee Giving Campaign and Microsoft generously matches.

If you work at Microsoft or know someone who does, we'd appreciate if you'd consider supporting our nonprofit! We're in the database!
Aquatic Facility Highlights
Paris Olympics 2024
Paris 2024 Olympics is getting a NEW aquatic center and will be the only new venue for the games!

With a dramatic timbre roof and building, it is beautifully, contextually and thoughtfully designed to accommodate multiple aquatic events and will convert to a PUBLIC aquatic center afterwards. Flexible spaces are key for Olympic and post-Olympic facility success.

Some elements we share in our SPLASHForward proposed Design Options...

  • 'Stretch 50m' competition pool with moveable bulkheads for flexible configurations

  • Configurable spectator seating (the concept, not the scale!). We envision 900 spectator seating and 720 on deck as the right size for a regional scale facility in Bellevue.

  • Dry-side amenities to support fitness and community spaces

  • Integration into the surroundings with natural light, timber, green design (solar panels on roof) and spaces.
Scott and Sis Names Family YMCA
A new $35M 98,500 square foot facility to be located on a15-acre site adjacent to the existing Morgan Family YMCA in Tacoma, WA. The existing aging facility will be demolished as part of the project. The project includes a full aquatic center, health and well being area and dedicated areas for a gym, cycling and yoga rooms, the arts, and more.

The Scott and Sis Names Family Foundation donated $5.4M to the project's capital campaign last October and the YMCA named the facility in to honor Scott and Sis Names' legacy of giving back to the community and their passion for health and wellness.

Project is in preconstruction and delayed to Spring 2021 due to COVID-19 impacts.
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