BY LOREEN BERLIN:
It's summertime, and the temperature is rising outside. What better way to cool off than in a nice big swimming pool?
Garden Grove offers three swimming facilities: the Gary Hall Pool in Eastgate Park, Magnolia Park Pool and the Woodbury Park Pool.
There's recreational swim time and lesson time.
Enjoying some recreational swimming this week were brothers Phyodore, 4, and Phoelyx, 6, who were accompanied by their father, Patrick Lu of Garden Grove.
BY LOREEN BERLIN:
It's summertime, and the temperature is rising outside. What better way to cool off than in a nice big swimming pool?
Garden Grove offers three swimming facilities: the Gary Hall Pool in Eastgate Park, Magnolia Park Pool and the Woodbury Park Pool.
There's recreational swim time and lesson time.
Enjoying some recreational swimming this week were brothers Phyodore, 4, and Phoelyx, 6, who were accompanied by their father, Patrick Lu of Garden Grove.
"This is my first time this year to be at the pool, but the boys have been here before with their mom," said Lu. "The pool is really safe because the lifeguards watch out for the kids and tell them, 'No running,' and give them proper discipline."
Also enjoying recreational swimming was Xander, 8, whose Westminster grandmother, Sandra Aarvig said she sees that he gets pool time every day so he keeps busy during the summer.
"They always have three or four lifeguards who watch the kids closely and see that the kids follow the rules," said Aarvig. "My grandson loves it here and there are really nice kids here at the pool for him to associate with."
Aarvig said Xander started out by bringing safe pool toys to share with others to make friends.
Two Garden Grove sisters, Faith, 10, and Hope, 8, are taking swimming lessons at the Gary Hall Pool. Asked what they like about the pool, their response was, "This pool has warm water and it's bigger than others we've been to. This is our fourth day of swimming lessons."
The sisters noted that last year they were "Guppies" (level 2 for 6-13 year olds} at the Magnolia Park Pool.
Their mom, Juliet Campbell, said her daughters want people to know that they love going to the Gary Hall Pool because it's so big and that the teachers are friendly, "And let you go to the bathroom whenever you need to, and they like how the lifeguards say, 'No running,' because it keeps people safe."
Warm water seems to be a big hit at the Gary Hall Pool.
"They also like Eastgate Park because it has a fun playground and basketball court with a lot of room for trees to grow and for kids to run and play," said Campbell. "I would like to say that this is the second year I've enrolled the girls in the Garden Grove Aquatics Summer program because it's the most affordable that I've found at $50 a class and it's conveniently located."
The girl's teacher, Water Safety Instructor Melissa Bell, said that private lessons last 40 minutes, where students are taught safe swimming practices and they focus on the basics of swimming skills. Students learn what to do if they fall into a pool and also what steps they should take if someone else needs help in the pool, with the objective of swim lessons to teach safety to children in a fun and positive atmosphere.
Lifeguards take instructional courses to become certified; they need to know First Aid and CPR/AED, among other skills.
Children 6 months and older, plus adults, can take private, semi-private and group lessons. The lower the age of a child, the lower number of students in the swim classes and swimming is something children will remember for a life time.
The pool is named for Gary Hall, 66, who gained Olympic fame, and also grew up in Garden Grove; he's a former competition swimmer who made it a point to swim every day after his medical classes. He and his son, Gary Jr., formed "The Race Club," swimming club.
Recreational swimming in Garden Grove's pools goes through Sunday, Aug. 20 at the Magnolia pool and Sunday, Sept. 3 at the Gary Hall Pool. The fee for recreational swimming is $2 per visit for children 3years and older; a punch pass is $18 for 10 visits or $45 for 25 visits.
For more information, call the Community Services Department at 714-741-5200.
