Texas K–12 District Opens Natatorium at Local YMCA

The Crowley Independent School District in Fort Worth, Texas, recently celebrated a grand opening for the CISD Natatorium at the Ryan Family YMCA, according to a news release. The facility provides a UIL-appropriate venue for the district’s high-school swim teams, as well as allowing the YMCA to offer swimming and water-safety programs to CISD students and the community at large.

“This project is a long time coming, and our students and community deserve this,” said Daryle Moffett, Crowley ISD Executive Director of Athletics. “Not only will our student-athletes from both the CHS and NCHS swim teams benefit from having access to a pool that meets UIL requirements for competitions, students and adults of all ages will have the opportunity to take part in swim and water safety classes offered by the Y here.”

The district partnered with VLK Architects for the project’s design. The Natatorium includes large, open windows along the north wall to fill the space with natural light. Other amenities include a new scoreboard for swimming competitions, new bleachers, and a new pool that doubles the lane space available. Locker rooms feature ADA-compliant fixtures, and new MEP systems have been improved to offer dehumidification.

Funding for the project comes from a previous bond package, the news release reports.

“We worked with CISD and the YMCA to provide a natatorium that maximized the footprint delivering the programmatic needs of the district and the YMCA,” said Lauren Brown, VLK Architects Principal. “The community has enjoyed this facility for years, and now the improvements will allow for recreation and competition for years to come.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

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