CWU’s Aquatic Center, located on Walnut Street adjacent to the football field, is a facility that can be used not only by the students but the community as well. The pool is 10 lanes and is 4 to 15 feet in depth. 

The track and field team utilizes the Aquatic Center as much as they can during this time of year given that the weather is colder. Head coach Kevin Adkisson is a firm believer in having his athletes utilize the pool.

“It turns out to be a really good training option for us,” Adkisson said. “Especially during the winter.”

Adkisson also said all the running, jumping and hurdling the team does is all high impact. He said  coupled with the fact it’s a little colder outside it’s a bit harder to give 100% effort. 

Gunner Vallatini, a sophomore on CWU’s track and field team, specializes in sprints. Vallatini is one of the athletes who use the Aquatic Center throughout the week. 

“We usually do aquatic jogging,” Vallatini said. “[We also do] some kind of circuit to get our heart rate up without the impact of actually running.”  

Vallatini is one of many athletes who utilizes the time in the pool to train during the winter. Rachelle Hamilton, a sophomore who specializes in jumps, is another track and field athlete who uses the pool on campus. 

“We do basically our warm up, but in the water,” Hamilton said. “Sometimes we do relays and workouts.” 

Hamilton said the team usually is in the Aquatic Center half an hour before the swim team comes in. She also said they usually only spend one day a week training in the facility. 

There are many benefits to using the Aquatic Center during the winter season. Adkisson said you can work really hard in the pool, but instead of your legs getting beat down from a hard running workout, they actually feel better after. He said this is due to the water being supportive and zero impact. 

“It definitely helps break [the practices] up,” Adkisson said. “Gives [the athletes] that mental and physical boost as well as that recovery element to be able to work as hard as they want.”  

Adkisson also said the sprinters and jumpers will do more shallow end plyometric workouts. He said the longer distance group uses the pool time as more of a recovery day. They are usually in the deep water with the flotation belts running underwater, Adkisson said. 

The Aquatic Center is available for athletes as well as for other CWU students. The pool can also be accessible to other community members who are a current Recreation Center member. 

For open rec swims, the pool is available from 7-8:45 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 6-8 p.m. Friday and 5-7 p.m. on Sunday. There is equipment available for usage in the pool. This includes kickboards, fins, water basketball and buoys.