Six lanes, 82 by 44 feet, 124,000 gallons
The Lower Pool, which members call the Lap Pool, is the newest pool at Wedgewood Swim Club. It is a standard 25 meter pool with six lanes, measuring 82 feet (25 meters) by 44 feet, and it holds 124,000 gallons.
The floor runs only from 4 feet to 5 feet, so a swimmer can count lengths without crossing a drop-off. That evenness is the point. This is the pool for steady lap swimming, for stroke work, and for the team's practice blocks, and it sits below the Main Pool on the grounds.
It is for swimmers who are comfortable in deep water. Anyone who has passed the club's deep water test can use it, whatever their age.
Deep water test first, then the lanes
The Lower Pool may only be used by people who have passed the deep water test. Children under 12 take that test from the pool manager or a lifeguard, on request, scheduled around the guards' availability. Passing the club's Green Tag Test also opens every area of the club to a swimmer, which is why the swim lessons program teaches toward it.
Lifeguards staff the Lap Pool during all hours of operation. Safety signs are posted in the lower pool, and the club asks swimmers to observe them. Running, sliding, dunking, pushing and rough housing are out, and swimmers follow the lifeguards' directions. A child using a flotation device needs an adult in the water or beside them on the deck.
Looking for the shallow end, the slide or the diving board? Those belong to the Main Pool, and the youngest swimmers have the Baby Pool. The rules for every pool are collected on the policies page.
Built in 1987, still the newest water on the grounds
Vincent Pools built the lower pool in 1987 for $125,000. Nearly four decades on, it is still the newest of the three pools at Wedgewood, and the one the Wedgewood Whales use for practice during the season, in afternoon and morning blocks that change once the summer is under way.
Like the rest of the club, it opens on Memorial Day and closes after Labor Day, daily from noon into the evening, with the hours posted on the club calendar. Thunder or lightning clears the pools and deck until 30 minutes after the last instance, and the Club Facebook group and the website carry any weather closure.
The Lap Pool belongs to West Chester's member-owned club on South Matlack Street like everything else here. Members check in at the Front Desk through the breezeway, and every guest gets a wristband from the desk before heading to the water.
