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YMCA's new locker rooms make family swimming more convenient
McCOOK, Neb. -- While it isn't obvious when you walk through the front door, the McCook YMCA recently completed a major renovation project which will benefit pool users and exercisers alike, families with small children as well as those members with special needs.
Two new family locker rooms were added to the lower level of the YMCA, with the entrances in the swimming pool hallway.
The renovation project took place over several months earlier this year, with pool users and swim team members entering the pool through an alternate entrance. But the project was completed in time for the pool's busiest time of the year: summer swim lessons. With the addition of several new times and sessions to this summer's lessons, Gonzales predicted that the new locker rooms will be used heavily.
Before the addition of the family locker rooms, a parent or guardian with a small child of the opposite sex in tow faced a dilemma: Which locker room does the child use when he or she is too young to go into a locker room by themselves or too old to be in a locker room of the opposite sex? Now, a parent or guardian can request to use the family locker room and can have their own space.
The new locker rooms also enable those with physical challenges to have space to spread out in a safe environment. One of the locker rooms is also a little larger, allowing the addition of a massage table to be used as a changing table. For example, those in Special Olympics will now be able to change and shower in the new locker rooms rather than changing into swimsuits at home and wearing them home again.
The family locker rooms have been on the YMCA project list for at least 15 years as part of the facility's long-range planning. But along the way, other projects took priority such as updating the weight room, repainting the swimming pool, purchasing new exercise equipment.
But late last year, the YMCA Board of Directors approved the addition of two family locker rooms. "The Board has always felt very strongly that family locker rooms were needed," said YMCA Executive Director Mike Gonzales, "and finally the funding became available."
The two family locker rooms cover 900 square feet and were designed to use current floor space, rather than requiring an addition to the building. In exchange, the men's and women's locker rooms lost a row of lockers, and some storage space was either moved or lost.
With a $90,000 price tag, the locker rooms include showers with a dual-head or a hand-wand; a toilet; sink; and floors with a safety finish preventing slippage. Lockers are available in the pool hallway rather than in the locker room for a specific reason, Gonzales said. If locker room originally used is occupied, then the member will still have access to their clothes and bags and can use the other locker room to change back into street clothes.
The location of the family locker rooms also led to a long discussion. The board recognized that the locker rooms would be used by pool users the most, so the locker rooms should have easiest access on the lower level in the pool hallway.
The locker rooms are locked when not in use. Currently, the key check-out system requires that users obtain a locker room key from a member of the pool staff. The key will be returned while the patron is swimming or exercising, so that others can use the locker room if needed.
One additional benefit of the family locker rooms location near the pool is that the rooms allow children in swim lessons to use the restroom while remaining in eyesight of the lifeguards during swim lessons.
With the family locker rooms finished and now available for use, the YMCA Board of Directors will have another project to consider: updating the men's and women's locker rooms. Discussion about the need for family locker rooms actually began with a conversation about the need to renovate the men's and women's locker rooms. So while the family locker rooms are now a reality, plans for the multi-stage process of renovating the main locker rooms are just beginning.