9 IN to 1 FT 8 IN

The Baby Pool

A shallow pool of its own beside the pavilion and picnic area, 38 by 30 feet, for pre-swimming children up to age 6 and the adults who come in with them.

Call (610) 696-4390 Ask about membership

38 by 30 feet, never deeper than 1 foot 8 inches

The Baby Pool at Wedgewood Swim Club measures 38 feet by 30 feet, and the water runs from 9 inches at the shallow edge to 1 foot 8 inches at the deepest. It is built for young, pre-swimming children, ages up to 6, who are learning what water feels like.

The pool sits next to the pavilion and the picnic area on purpose. A parent in the shade of the pavilion, or at a picnic table, has an easy line of sight to the water.

It is the right pool for a child who is not ready for the Main Pool, and well short of the deep water test that the Lap Pool requires.

A safe space for building water confidence

The club's Baby Pool Safety Policy is short. A parent or adult should accompany any child in the Baby Pool. Children who are not yet toilet trained wear a swim diaper while they are in it. And the pool is a safe space for building water confidence, so swimming-age children are reminded that it belongs to the youngest members.

Lifeguards staff the Baby Pool during all hours of operation, and they may ask a child who is not making appropriate use of it to move to another area. Any child wearing water wings, a tube or a life jacket needs an adult in the water or along the deck near them.

Children under 12 need a parent or responsible guardian, 16 or older, to come into the club at all. When a child is ready to leave the Baby Pool, the deep water test is the next step, and it opens the Main Pool's deep water and the Lap Pool. The full set of rules is on the policies page.

Replaced in 1996, open Memorial Day to Labor Day

The Baby Pool was part of the original 1958 contract with Sapphire Pools, alongside the L shaped main pool, the office and the breezeway. In 1996 the club built a new Baby Pool with Carlton Pools, and that is the one children splash in today on South Matlack Street.

It opens with the club on Memorial Day and runs through Labor Day, from noon into the evening, with daily hours on the club calendar. If thunder or lightning is heard or seen, every pool and the deck clear until 30 minutes after the last instance. Weather closures are posted on the Club Facebook group and the website.

Across a summer, the Baby Pool is where the club's youngest swimmers start: shallow water for them, and the pavilion, the picnic tables and the charcoal grills right beside it for the adults who come with them.

Grass slope running down from the white pavilion and deck to the pools

Wedgewood Swim Club, 957 S. Matlack Street, West Chester. The phone is answered in summer hours only, so please do not leave a voicemail; out of season, write to wedgewoodbod@gmail.com.

The rest of the water

Main Pool, 3 to 10 feet Lap Pool, 25 meters Pavilion and Picnic Grove Pool rules and policies Join the wait list