Pat Smirniotopoulos has been going to the George Washington (GW) RECenter since it opened in 1988. She would go more often if it had longer hours.
"The pool doesn't open until 1 p.m. on Sundays, so I have to go to Mount Vernon RECenter," said Smirniotopoulos.
Imagine paying a monthly fee for a health club only to have the pool closed every Monday through Thursday from 10:30 to 3 p.m., Fridays after 10:30 a.m. and occasionally on other days?
Welcome to the Fairfax County Park Authority's recreation centers.
The Fairfax County Park Authority public relations specialist, Judy Pederson, explained the problem of catering to all the groups in the county.
"We have to be flexible. The nature of our business is to serve different constituencies," she said.
For example, at Lee District Recreation Center in December, the pool and spa were closed on the 8th at 4:30 p.m. for a swim meet; the high dive was closed on the 9th and 16th for private slide rental; the pool was closed at noon on the 24th and at 2 p.m. on the 31st. Advantage Lacrosse, a private lacrosse club, used the gym at 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday during the month for a private function.
Over at South Run Recreation Center, the December schedule was similar. The Victor Swim Club used all but four lanes in the pool every week, Monday-Friday, from 6:30-7 a.m.; high-school swim teams used it Monday- Thursday from 3:30- 5:30 p.m.; it closed at noon on the 24th and closed at 2 p.m. on the 31st.
At Oak Marr for the month of January, the availability is limited. Monday through Thursday, high schools are practicing from 3:30-5:30 p.m., and the pool is closed on Fridays at 4:30 p.m. for swim meets. The weekly schedule at South Run Recreation Center is similar. High schools and swim clubs have practice from 3:30-5:30 p.m. In January, the pool is closed every Friday at 5:30 p.m., and in February, the pool is closed at 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 8, and 12:30 p.m. on the 9th and 10th. Throw in the diving teams, meets and birthday parties, and the pool availability gets limited.
Conflicting Demands
Pools at all the recreation centers try to juggle conflicting demands from various groups, most of which are vying for prime hours, and are left idle during slow hours. Add to that the economics of trying to break even, and one begins to understand why there are times that centers like GW RECenter are closed during the day.
Roseann Doyle has worked the front desk at GW RECenter for years and said that it doesn’t have the middle population. Whereas it is very popular with seniors and mothers with children, it doesn’t have enough members of the younger middle generation who would come looking to work out on a regular basis.
Doyle said that when the Mount Vernon RECenter was closed for renovations, GW was very busy and extended its hours. After Mount Vernon reopened, GW tried to stay open but didn't have the customers and cut back again.
"We had a grace period of staying open with extended hours but couldn't justify them," she said.
Dan Peters, manager at the center, said that it is starting to get some new homeowners and has increased the hours slightly. "We will try to increase the hours as our numbers increase."
Smirniotopoulos was instrumental in getting the center to extend the morning hours from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and would like to see the center open even more. She feels that people just aren't aware of the club.
"It's such a wonderful place. I wish they were open all day," said Smirniotopoulos, who swims at GW every day. Mea Ng and Han Inja also come regularly and wish the center was open more often.
"I thank Pat for her effort," said Doyle. "The seniors do love their morning hours more than anything. The strength lies in the therapeutic benefits."
Yet herein lies another conflict. The water at GW is kept at recommended levels for arthritis patients - 84°, contrasted with 80-82° at other pools. Some of the younger swimmers complain that it's too warm for lap swimming.
Doyle said that even when swim-and-dive teams are practicing, GW still keeps lanes open for swimmers.
"When our doors are open, there are lanes," she said, noting that it's a very clubby place. "Everybody knows everybody here."
Now that it is winter, the snow-emergency policy goes into effect as well. GW follows suit with the schools. If the Fairfax County Public Schools are closed, the RECenter programs, classes and events are canceled. On days when school opens late or closes early, classes are canceled accordingly.
Although a monthly fee covers the whole month, the dates are not extended for the inconvenience of showing up during the closed hours. Park staff will gladly supply the name and location of the nearest facility that is open.
Pederson did note the county's attempts to deal with complaints on this level.
"We do try and make it right on an individual basis," she said.
In FY ‘01, which is July 1, 2000-June 30, 2001, the recreation centers had 1,360,146 visits for all eight county locations.