FIELDALE, Va. (Romero Report) — The Fieldale Pools’ swimming season started off with higher-than-expected attendance, a news release posted on the Fieldale Recreation Center’s Facebook page stated.

The number of swimmers and guests led to overcrowding, raising concerns about the safety of both swimmers and lifeguards, the release said.

“Safety is always our number one concern when it comes to managing all of our facilities,” said President of Fieldale Recreation Center & Pools Andrew Kahle. “Over the Memorial Day weekend, our pool facility broke all attendance records for an opening weekend.”

In response, the all-volunteer board met and decided to return to the pools’ previous policy of ‘Passholder’ access only.

The center said day passes will now only be available to guests of ‘Season Passholders,’ who may purchase a day pass on the same day they attend with the ‘Passholder.’

The previous policy of open day passes made it difficult to regulate overcrowding, which was unfair to both ‘Passholders’ and staff, according to the center.

Season pass prices will remain unchanged and are as follows:

• $200 for a single person
• $250 for two people
• $300 for three people
• $350 for four people
• $400 for five people

A ‘Season Passholder’ may sign in two guests a day, with guests paying $8 and being accompanied by the ‘Passholder,’ the release said.

Season passes can be purchased at the gate while supplies last.

The board said it concluded that managing the number of season passes available will:

• Help ensure the safety of both swimmers and lifeguards
• Relieve some of the pressures on the onsite staff members tasked with managing pool traffic day-to-day
• Ensure the filtering system can keep up with demand (The Memorial Day weekend overcrowding required closing the pool on May 29 to allow the pool filtering system to recalibrate for an entire day, which is not fair to ‘Season Passholders’)
• Provide a nicer and safer ‘Passholder’ experience

The pools are open Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The pools will be closed on June 1 and June 2 for this transition and maintenance.

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