COLUMBIA, MO. -- Swimming pool managers across Mid-Missouri are preparing for a long and hot season on this first day of summer.
Some local swimming pools have new attractions this year.
This is Lindsey Ham’s third year as a Columbia lifeguard.
Ham helps supervise the new Spray Ground at the Douglass Family Aquatic Center. Her training included CPR, first aid and the ability to stay alert at all times. Ham said more parents need to be with their children at public pools, especially when the heat index rises above 100 degrees.
“I think they should be with them, if they are younger than 12," Ham said. "We get a lot of young ones here who need lots of water. That would be good. They need sunscreen. It’s really hot out here.”
Besides a new Spray Ground, the Douglass Family Aquatic Center also has a giant water slide, vinyl lining in the pool and a climbing wall.
Some time soon this summer, you can enjoy the center’s Spray Ground for free at night. Parks and recreation officials are waiting for the completion of some nearby construction before they open the Spray Ground at no cost from when the pool closes until 11 p.m.
“It’s a huge deal in terms of keeping people cool and keeping people refreshed," Assistant Manager Cavelle Cole-Neal said. "Some people don’t enjoy swimming or don’t want to pay to go swim or some people’s children might want to swim and the adults might not. In the evenings when you are walking your dog or you are out bar-be-queing or looking for something to do, the sprinklers offer a good way to get relaxed from the heat.”
Pool managers all across Mid-Missouri want to remind parents to keep a close eye on their children, so lifeguards can concentrate on safety, instead of babysitting.
Jefferson City’s two public pools opened for the summer season on June 2.
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