By Shanna Flowers, The Roanoke Times, Va.
Jul. 1–Doing exercises in the middle of the newly renovated YWCA pool Monday morning, Helen Kitts of Vinton was a trouper.
Every time aquatics coordinator Bernetta McGuire called out another exercise routine, Kitts, who turns 82 this month, did them effortlessly.
Until the dastardly leg kicks.
Clasping the edge of the pool, Kitts grimaced the first time as she slowly raised her right leg. She hung in and completed that set of five. Then she soldiered through the next set on her left leg.
They don’t call folks such as Kitts “The Greatest Generation” for nothing.
She was among a group of older women Monday who helped inaugurate the reopening of the therapeutic pool at the YWCA. The heated, 60-foot-by-17-foot pool is the largest aquatic outlet for the elderly and disabled in the Roanoke Valley.
It marked the first day of classes since YWCA officials closed the pool nearly two years ago. Children attending summer school at Fairview, Monterey, Fallon Park, Westside and Fishburn elementary schools will use the pool Monday through Thursday.
“We thought we’d come back,” Kitts said of herself and her classmate Fairy Kesler. Their class targets arthritis sufferers and anyone else looking for a workout easy on the joints.
Kesler, 83, chipped in, “I’m diabetic, and it’s important I exercise. It’s a nice pool, and it’s not so deep.”
With a depth of about 4 feet, the pool — in what is now called the Copenhaver Aquatic Center — is another mechanism by which the YWCA is seeking to raise its profile.
The organization, which has a women’s shelter and offers programs to help women get back on their feet, traditionally has labored in the shadow of the YMCA. The pool is one way for the YW to gain a bigger share of the spotlight.
“Our goal is to work with as many agencies — day cares, schools, camps, different shelters — to better help underserved children and adults,” McGuire said.
The 23-year-old Roanoke native has a degree in sports management from Old Dominion University. She swam competitively for 14 years as a member of the Virginia Gators and received a scholarship to Old Dominion University. She joined the YW staff in February.
Closing the YW pool in November 2006 at the building on Franklin Road and First Street in downtown Roanoke caused a mild hysteria among some of its longtime users.
Officials initially shut the pool because its heater went out. At the same time, the organization was in the midst of reinventing itself by streamlining costs, searching for new funding sources and redefining its priorities to become more relevant to the community.
Last October, the YWCA received a $50,000 gift from the Foundation for Roanoke Valley’s John and Mary Copenhaver Family Fund.
YW Executive Director Melissa Woodson said the gift earmarked $20,000 to renovate the pool facility, including purchasing a heater and repainting the ceiling, which was flaking and falling into the pool.
The pool uses a mixture of chlorine and salt, which is better for the skin, McGuire said. It also allows people with contact lenses to use the pool without discomfort, she added.
Classes are taught during the week, but the pool is available for private party rentals on Saturdays. Renters don’t have to be a YW member. Rates vary slightly, depending on the size of the group.
But Woodson said the organization tried to make the fees competitive with other pools while at the same time setting them at a rate that will sustain the pool operation.
For example, a group of 15 to 20 people using the pool for two hours will pay $100. McGuire said some other pools charge between $75 and $100 for an hour. An individual pool pass is $5, $40 for 10 passes and $70 for 20 passes. Annual memberships are also available.
Most pools have a temperature of about 82 degrees, McGuire said, but the YW pool is heated to 86 degrees.
“It’s considered a therapy pool,” she said.
The water is warm and soothing for elderly and disabled who use the pool for therapeutic purposes.
The temperature also prevents elementary students from shivering when they climb in.
“This is fabulous,” American Red Cross instructor Karol Lurch said Monday after teaching second-graders from Fairview and Fallon Park. “It’s a great teaching pool. They can get their feet on the bottom.” Kitts and Kesler participated in water exercise classes before the pool shut down in 2006. Kesler said she has swum there for 15 years. The women, who looked much younger than their ages, were proof that staying active yields benefits in the later years.
During class, Kesler stood quietly in the second row. She wore an earnest expression as she concentrated on following McGuire’s movements.
When McGuire launched into a move reminiscent of squats, Kesler made it clear that even exercise had its limits.
“I don’t want to get my hair wet,” she said out loud to no one in particular.
Later, she laughed, explaining that getting her hair wet “means I have to wash it.”
At 58, Jennifer McCraw was in the pool trying to rehabilitate after back surgery in December.
“Water’s good for you,” said the former water aerobics teacher. “It takes the pressure off.”
Shanna Flowers’ column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
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