Let the swimming begin

Travis Smith and Patrick Johnson have a tradition, and friend Cody McCloud usually goes along with it.

“It’s a tradition to be the first here at the Pittsburg Aquatic Center when it opens, the first in the water and the first on the diving board,” McCloud said.

“I took the day off work to be here,” Smith said. “I can do that if we’re not too busy.”

The pool opened for the season at 1 p.m. Saturday, and Johnson said they were there waiting around 11:15 or 11:30 a.m.

“We get here a minimum of two hours early,” he said.

“Last year we were here at 9 a.m.,” McCloud added.

They’re well known to pool manager Linda Graham, who said she had seen quite a few regulars coming in.

“It’s business as usual, and everything is working great,” she said. “I am a little disappointed because I thought it would be sunnier, but it’s nice and warm. We have a good group of lifeguards and we’ve had them here all week for training.”

Graham said that Via Christi Medical Center provides a dispenser of sunscreen, which is much appreciated.

“We give them a daily reminder about putting it on,” she said. “We get a lot of little kids dropped off without it.”

The pool is open from 1 to 7 p.m., with open swim from 1 to 5 p.m., then family swim from 5:15 to 7 p.m.

“We have a whole different clientele from 5:15 to 7 p.m.,” Graham said. “People get off work and come in and they don’t have to fight the regulars.”

Smith said that he likes to come in when he gets off work as often as he can.

“They just have so much you can do here,” he said. “It’s much better than being inside playing video games.”

There are the social aspects as well.

“This is a place we can meet up and hang out with our friends,” Johnson said.

He said that he was around six or seven when he started coming to the pool. McCloud said he started coming after he met Smith and Johnson when he was in sixth or seventh grade.

Graham said that it’s not just PIttsburg residents who come to the pool.

“If you look at our parking lot, you’ll see a lot of Missouri cars,” she said.

The pool manager said there was a nice crowd for the opening day, but that it’s usually not the biggest weekend of the season, possibly because many people go out of town over the Memorial Day weekend.

“Usually the Fourth of July is our biggest day, maybe because everybody is admitted free,” Graham said. “Last year we had about 1,500 people in and out of here. It was probably 100 degrees and the pool was so packed you couldn’t see the water. I had to call in extra lifeguards.”