GULF SHORES, Ala. — The Bodenhamer Recreation Center pool will close to the public on three dates this fall to accommodate Gulf Shores High School swim meets.
The Closure Schedule
- Tuesday, Sept. 15 — Pool closes at 3 p.m. for the remainder of the day
- Saturday, Oct. 3 — Pool closed until 1 p.m.
- Tuesday, Oct. 20 — Pool closes at 3 p.m. for the remainder of the day
City officials asked residents to plan pool visits accordingly.
“We appreciate your understanding as we support our local student-athletes and GSHS Swim!” the city said in announcing the schedule.
Why the Closures Are Necessary
A competitive swim meet requires the entire pool, not a portion of it, and the reason has to do with how meets are run.
Lanes must be assigned to competitors in heats, with timing equipment set at each lane and officials positioned along the deck. Starting blocks require clear water ahead of them. Warm-up and cool-down periods require additional lane space before and between events. Deck space is occupied by teams, coaches, timers, stroke and turn judges, and the meet’s administrative operation.
Sharing the facility with recreational swimmers during a meet is not workable in either direction. Competitors need controlled conditions, and recreational users would find a facility crowded with teams and equipment largely unusable.
The staggered timing in the schedule reflects an effort to limit that disruption. Two of the three closures begin at 3 p.m., preserving morning and midday access for the lap swimmers, water exercise participants and general users who make up much of a recreation center pool’s weekday traffic. The Saturday closure runs the opposite direction, ending at 1 p.m. and leaving the afternoon open.
What Shared Facilities Look Like in a Small City
The arrangement reflects a reality of municipal recreation in cities the size of Gulf Shores: high school athletic programs and public recreation frequently occupy the same facilities.
Competition-standard pools are expensive to build and expensive to operate. Construction runs into the millions, and ongoing costs — chemicals, heating, filtration, lifeguard staffing, maintenance — continue year-round regardless of use. Few cities of Gulf Shores’ population can justify separate facilities for public recreation and for a high school program.
The result is a shared-use model in which a municipal recreation center hosts school athletics. It is efficient, and it is why the swim program exists at all — a school district that had to build and operate its own competition pool likely would not field a team.
The tradeoff is exactly what these notices describe: a handful of days each season when the public facility is unavailable.
Swimming as a Coastal Skill
A high school swim program in a beach city carries significance beyond athletics.
Gulf Shores is a community where residents and visitors are in the water constantly — in the Gulf, in the back bays, in pools. Swimming competence is a safety skill in that environment rather than a recreational one, and rip currents along the Alabama coast are a recurring hazard that claims lives.
Programs that produce strong swimmers also produce lifeguards. Gulf Shores has expanded its lifeguard service in recent years, including moving toward year-round coverage, and competitive swim programs are among the most reliable sources of qualified candidates for those positions.
The Bodenhamer Recreation Center
The Bodenhamer Recreation Center is a City of Gulf Shores facility serving residents with a range of recreational programming.
Recreation centers of this kind occupy an important position in a resort community. In a city where much of the commercial landscape is oriented toward visitors, a public recreation facility is one of the places built for the people who live there year-round.
Planning Around the Dates
Residents who use the pool regularly should note the three dates and plan accordingly. Those with questions about hours or programming can contact the recreation center directly, and the city publishes schedule updates through its regular notification channels.
Residents interested in receiving city notices directly can sign up for Gulf Shores notifications and newsletters through the city’s website.