Correction (April 8 11:56 p.m.): An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Sara Rafalson's year. She is a junior. The story has been changed to reflect the correction. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.
When the underwater hockey club team goes to compete in a tournament this weekend at George Mason University, members won’t have practiced in more than a month.
But it hasn’t been laziness that has kept members from improving their slap shots.
A shortage of on-campus pool space due to renovations has affected almost all swimming-related groups at the University, limiting their ability to hold practices, recruit members and offer recreational opportunities.
The renovation of the Bowman Gray Indoor Pool began in July and is predicted to continue into the fall semester to bring it up to code and remove asbestos in the walls. Koury Natatorium has been affected by construction to the Dean E. Smith Center, and the Kessing Outdoor pool has been closed for two years amid renovations.
Students have limited opportunities for recreational lap swimming and intramural sports, and swimming physical education classes were canceled altogether for this year.
Club sports teams have been forced to use their own funds to pay for off-campus practice space.
“Frustration is the number-one word,” said Jason Halsey, the director of sports clubs, regarding students’ reaction to the pool closures. “The students are frustrated, but to me, it’s just an unfortunate situation.”
Junior Sara Rafalson, the president of the women’s water polo club team, said they are unable to scrimmage at their new practice space in the Chapel Hill Community Center because the pool fits only one net.
“It’s kind of a bummer — the pool is really small,” she said. “It’s definitely been a crazy year for us.”
She added that the club has had limited opportunities to compete and had to cancel its Easter tournament — usually one of its main sources of funding.
The UNC swim club now pays $60 per practice at the Homestead Aquatic Center in Chapel Hill and has subsequently cut their practices to two days a week.
“It’s really hard for the team to stay in shape,” said Sara Weber, the club team’s president. “We do practice on land, but you really need to be in the water at least four times a week to stay in shape.”
She said attendance at practices also dropped because of the added difficulty for students to travel.
Club teams and students had limited access to Koury Natatorium — a space typically reserved for varsity teams — until spring break, when that option was eliminated.
The construction, which includes renovating basketball offices and locker rooms, only affects the corridor under the pool and not the pool deck itself, said Clint Gwaltney, the associate athletic director.
Koury Natatorium reopened Wednesday to lap swimmers, who will have access to the pool on weekdays from noon to 1:30 p.m.
Sophomore Elizabeth Littauer said she used to swim at Bowman Gray several times a week but no longer swims because of Koury Natatorium’s limited availability.
“Swimming was just the way I worked out,” she said. “That’s probably why I miss it so much.”
When the pools closed, UNC created an agreement with the Chapel Hill community pools that allowed students, faculty and staff to swim recreationally for free. But more people took advantage of this option than the University expected, and the resulting costs became too high. The agreement ended March 31.
Three intramural sports — inner tube water polo, inner tube water basketball and the intramural swim meet — were canceled this year because of the pools’ closing.
“It was a little disappointing,” said Justin Ford, the director of intramural sports. “You don’t want to have to cut programs, but we found alternatives.”
He said intramural sports can continue when the Kessing Outdoor Pool reopens in May.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
