It’s not too late to join the Rockville Center! Lot’s of swimming left between now and end of season. Remember the pool is open full time through Monday, September 7th and a few additional weekends if weather permits!

August New Member Special!  New members pay dues only (no one-time initiation fee). Swim for the rest of the year and join next year as active members.  A savings of $200. 

2019 Active Member Special!  Any 2019 members who have been undecided about 2020, can join and take 19% off their total price.  Savings varies based on family size.

Membership forms are available under the Resources section of this website.

Questions? Please email rockvillecentermembers@gmail.com

Hello Rockville Center Members!

Just touching base to bring you some updates, reminders and August happenings news.  Typically, it’s pretty quiet at the pool in August.  We’re not sure what to expect this year!

Attendance at the pool has been steady this summer.  Our total active membership numbers are down slightly, but we expected that given current concerns.  That said, we have also welcomed 16 new families to the pool this year (an increase from 2019).

Please continue to social distance and be mindful of other people’s space while visiting the pool.

If you have any special requests while at the pool (anything from adding an additional lane line to changing the radio station), don’t hesitate to ask one of the guards (or text Leslie by replying to one of the remind texts).  They are happy to accommodate!

Please remember that when you check in with guests, make sure to add their names, answer all the questions and identify how you are “paying” for your guest.

Looking for a way to fulfill your volunteer hours?  We’d love some help on the Board (meetings are once a month)!  Another option: find a project around the Center.  We need help cleaning up flower beds, trimming shrubs or just about anything where you can see work needs to be done.  Reply back to this email and we’ll figure something out.

AUGUST HAPPENINGS:

August New Member Special!  New members pay dues only (no one-time initiation fee). They swim for the rest of the year and join next year as active members.  A savings of $200.  Please spread the word.  Forms will be available on August 1.

2019 Active Member Special!  Any 2019 members who have been undecided about 2020, can join and take 19% off their total price.  Savings varies based on family size.  If you have any questions, please respond to this email.

Friday, August 7th.  Food Truck and Music at the Rockville Center!  Sandtopia Food Truck (back by popular demand) and music by Clay Mottley.  Bring a guest for $1 (or use your prepaid passes).  Pick up dinner and enjoy it by the pool or get it to go!  More details coming.

Friday, August 28th.  Food Truck and Music at the Rockville Center!  Strawberry Street Catering Food Truck and music by Clay Mottley.  Bring a guest for $1 (or use your prepaid passes).  Pick up dinner and enjoy it by the pool or get it to go!  More details coming.

The pool is open with regular summer hours through Labor Day, Monday, September 7th.  We are hoping to open a few weekends after that, but it depends on weather and guard coverage.  We’ll keep you posted.

As always, please feel free to respond to this email with comments/concerns/feedback.  Our next board meeting is Thursday night, August 13th at 7:00 pm at the Center.  Current members are welcome to attend.

In our April 23 email, we asked members to make a leap of faith and join the pool not knowing what the summer would look like. The response was amazing and we truly appreciate your support.

In that same email, we also mentioned that we would offer a prorated membership rate later in the season.  With that in mind, we are offering a $50 discount to all 2019 members and any new members who join by July 10th.There is no special form for this,simply total your membership dues and deduct $50.

To our members (both returning and new) who paid before this announcement, we would like to thank you with an offer of 10 free guest visits.  If you would like this offer, please reply to this email and we will add the passes onto your membership.  If you have already paid and would like a refund, please reply to this email and we will process the refund.  These updates will not happen automatically, so we appreciate your reply by July 10th as well.

Finally, it is no secret our membership numbers are not growing as we would like.  Toward that, we are offering to waive inactive fees for any 2017 and 2018 members who decide to rejoin in 2020.  We cannot combine the prorated offer with this offer.

You are welcome to bring your forms with you to the pool when you come (vs. mailing them in).  Just give your completed form and dues to the guard at the guard stand when you check in (blank forms available at the pool, if needed). As always, we welcome your feedback, questions, concerns, etc.  And even more importantly, if you want to help guide the Center into the future, please consider volunteering on the board (board meetings are the second Thursday of every month and all members are welcome to attend).

On Wednesday, July 1, the State and the Rockville Center will be moving to Phase 3.  At that time:

• The pool will be open for recreational swimming.
• Pool capacity will be open to 75% (we’re not even going to give you numbers because with our current membership levels, just about every member could be at the pool at one time and we’d still be under capacity).  We will maintain 2 lanes for now, but may remove one lane during peak times.  Grounds capacity has increased from 50 to 250.
• All members need to continue to practice social distancing.  Please be respectful of each other’s space.
• The baby pool will remain closed.
• Cleaning procedures will continue.
• Check in procedures will continue.
• Guests are welcome. If you bring guests, please be sure to answer all guest questions at check-in  including whether you are paying the guest fees by check, cash or using prepaid pass.

Other Reminders:

Don’t forget to sign up for Remind.  Text @rkvlpool to 81010 to join.  We are using this system to communicate weather delays and important message.  If you choose, there is a Remind app you can download, but it is not necessary to use the app.

Our Pool Manager, Leslie Nuckols, will be offering individual swim lessons starting Wednesday, July 1.  Lessons are $20 for a 30 minute lesson.  You can contact Leslie directly by replying to any of the Remind texts that come through. She’ll be sending out a Remind with this information tomorrow as well.

We expect the pool to be busy next weekend for the 4^th of July.  If you do not like crowds, please consider coming early in the day or later in the evening.

The pool will close at 5:00 p.m. on the following Wednesdays for swim meets: July 8, July 15, July 22 and July 29.

2019 Members who do not wish to join the Center in 2020 as Active Members may choose to join as Inactive Members. For a nominal fee, this option allows you to put your membership on hold for the year and join in 2021 as an Active Member without having to join as a New Member.  Please find the Inactive Member form (and all other 2020 membership forms) under the Resources section of our website.

Save the date! On Friday, July 10, we’ll have the Santopia Food Truck in the parking lot from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm.  Members are welcome to purchase dinner and eat at the pool, tailgate in the parking lot or get dinner to go. Community members are welcome to get dinner to go.  Please attend as we’d love to be able to do this again.  Side note: we’re still looking for musical entertainment.

New Members are welcome.  We are still offering a $100 referral bonus to Active members (limit one per family).  Please make sure the new member lists your name in the Referred By field.

Remember that as Members, you get a discount on Center and Gym rentals (and the gym is air conditioned now!).  You can get rental information from Gabrielle Thomas, our Rental Manager @ manager@rockvillecenter.com

July 9, 2020 Update. The Rockville Center Board voted this evening to amend the 2020 inactive fee to $50. The updated form is now available.

2019 Members who do not wish to join the Center in 2020 as Active Members may choose the option to join as Inactive Members. For a nominal fee, this option allows you to put your membership on hold for the year and join in 2021 as an Active Member without having to join as a New Member.

Please find the Inactive Member form (and all other 2020 membership forms) under the Resources section of this website.

If you have any questions, please email rockvillecentermembers@gmail.com (or you can call Jennie Burcham at 804-749-3731).

Effective June 20, you are welcome to bring guests to the pool.  If you have purchased a guest pass, you will not receive a physical pass.  We will be maintaining your balance electronically (check in process has been modified to include guests).  If you pay when you visit, the cost is $5/per guest.  We can accept cash and checks (as always, exact change is appreciated).

Effective Monday, June 15th, our summer hours are:

Monday – Thursday. 10 am to 8 pm
Friday. 10 am to 9 pm
Saturday. 10 am to 8 pm
Sunday. 12 noon to 8 pm

The Pool will close at 5 pm on these days for swim meets (this is a change):
Wednesday, July 8
Wednesday, July 15
Wednesday, July 22
Wednesday, July 29

Hours after Labor Day tbd

*You do not need to practice social distancing between family members residing in the same household

*Plan details can be found in the Resources section of this site.

Rockville Members,

Another long email, but full of necessary information.  Please take a few moments to read in entirety.

Thank you for your patience.  We have worked diligently over the last several days on a plan that will allow the pool to open under the State’s Phase 2 Guidelines.

We are excited to announce that we will open the pool for the season on Saturday, June 6.  We hope to open at 1:00 p.m., but there is much we have to get done between now and then, so time is subject to change.

With that in mind, we have retired the old text alert system and are asking everyone to sign up for Remind.  Text @rkvlpool to 81010 to join.  We will use this system moving forward to communicate weather, pool opening/closing and up to date pool capacity/availability, if needed.  If you choose, there is a Remind app you can download, but it is not necessary to use the app.

Hours of operation*:

Saturday, June 6. 1 pm to 8 pm

Sunday, June 7. 12 noon to 8 pm

Monday, June 8 – Friday, June 12. 4 pm to 8 pm

*Hours subject to change based on our ability to maintain Phase 2 Guidelines and membership numbers. Our goal is to expand our hours, but we have to do it safely.

We had hoped to open today, but we cannot make it happen.  The state released the Phase 2 Guidelines on Tuesday evening.  Since then, our pool committee and pool manager (along with numerous other volunteers) have spent a great deal of time reviewing the requirements and creating a plan for us to safely open.  In addition, we have been taking deliveries of necessary cleaning supplies and PPE, our guards are being trained on new processes and the pool, deck and facilities are being readied for members.

In order to comply with Phase 2 Guidelines, we are adding the following rules, limitations and guidelines for the pool. These can be revisited as necessary.

• The pool will be open for “exercise.”  Exercise is defined as: A type of physical activity that involves planned, structured, and repetitive bodily movement done to maintain or improve one or more components of physical fitness (per CDC Glossary).

• The entrance to the pool will be moved to the gate along the Rockville Center.  This will be an entrance only.  The double gate will be the exit.

• When you enter the pool, there will be a sign in sheet.  Please read the bullet points on this sheet.  These are important and explain new processes and procedures.  Some of them are:
  • COVID-19 Screening questions
  • Attestation that lifeguards will not be responsible for enforcing social distancing.
  • Attestation that members will be using the pool for exercise and not recreational purposes
  • Members will be responsible for maintaining 10 feet of social distancing while on deck and in the water exercising
  • A bleach solution will be available for members that want to wipe down tables and/or chairs.  Members may also bring their own chairs.
  • The maximum number of people in the pool at any time will be 21.  In the sections with lane lines no more than 3 people will be allowed.  While in the water members are responsible for maintaining 10ft of social distancing.

·      Other new pool policies:

• The number of persons within the fenced in area is limited to a maximum of 48 guests. 
• No sitting on the wall or in the stair area will be allowed 
• The baby pool will remain closed due to Phase 2 restrictions.
• Tables will be spaced 10 or more feet apart
• Tables and chairs will be cleaned with a bleach solution after each use.  Lifeguard will be able to help with identifying clean chair and helping to clean if one is not available
• Hand sanitizer stations will be provided at the entrance, the exit, the diving board, and each ladder / pool entrance with a railing.
• Bathrooms will be checked every hour using existing checklists, plus sink handles, toilets, urinal, stall doors and seats, handles, and paper towel dispensers will be sprayed with a bleach solution every hour
• No concessions will be available for sale
• During swim team practice on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday between 6 and 8pm, the number of members in the pool will be limited as swim team will be using 2 or 3 lanes.

Additional details of our plan, resources and notes will be posted on the Rockville Center website (www.rockvillecenter.com) and will be available at the guard shack.

We realize this may all seem overwhelming, but these measures allow us to comply with the Phase 2 guidelines as well as what we feel is appropriate for the health and safety of our members and our community.  We hope to ease these rules and restrictions when the state moves into Phase 3.

If you have any additional questions, please reach out via email or directly to any Rockville Center board member.  You may also respond to any of the Remind texts/messages and we can follow up from there.  Please try to avoid asking any general questions guards in the stand as they are working to protect members in the pool.

Please be patient and flexible with this process.  This is new to everyone and our primary goal is to keep everyone safe.  We are open to your comments and are always looking for members who are willing to help.

Good morning members!

Based on the Governor’s comments yesterday, we will be entering Phase 2 this Friday, June 5th.  Phase 2 allows pools to be open with restrictions. As clarifications relating to these restrictions become available and we come to a better understanding of how they will impact the pool and it’s operations, we will share a more detailed plan for opening with you.

Our goal is to make the pool available as quickly and safely as possible in accordance with the state guidelines.  We anticipate opening the pool this Friday.  We will share additional details and hours in our next email, which will be sent out no later than Friday morning.  Unfortunately, we can let you know that the baby pool will not be open in Phase 2.

What can you do to get ready?  Be mindful that pool operations will be changing.  We’re going to need to your help to make this work.

As always, but especially this year, thank you for your patience and your support of the Rockville Center.

Hello Rockville Racers!

It’s hard to believe it’s the middle of May already. Thank you for your patience in regards to the lack of information thus far regarding the swim season. Until just this week, GRAL has been saying they hope to have a season but we have had no details about what that would look like. 

At this point, GRAL has put out specific guidelines regarding this summer. If possible (and in compliance with all state guidelines), we are still hoping to have some sort of a season. However, GRAL will not move forward with meets unless VA is in Phase 3. Below are GRAL’s specific plans for 2020.  

From GRAL:

As a league, we will follow the State guidelines for social distancing, including the recommendations of the Governor.  The basis of this plan is to have a season that corresponds with the Phase 3 plans.  

Season Recommendations

In Phase 2, teams would be able to run practices based on their individual team/HOA guidelines. We will not try and run meets during Phase 2.

If Phase 2 ends June 12^th:

Meet #1 must be completed by 6/19

**NOTE:  If teams choose to run this meet as a dual meet (swim at your own clubs) this will be allowed

Remaining schedule remains

If Phase 2 ends June 19^th:

Meet #1 will be canceled

Meet #2 must be completed by 6/26

**NOTE:  If teams choose to run this meet as a dual meet (swim at your own clubs) this will be allowed

Remaining schedule remains

If Phase 2 ends June 26^th:

Meets #1 and #2 will be canceled

Meet #3 to be completed by 7/3

**NOTE:  If teams choose to run this meet as a dual meet (swim at your own clubs) this will be allowed

Remaining schedule remains

If Phase 2 ends later than June 30th, the season will be canceled. June 30th is our deadline for determining whether we will have a season. 

In addition, seniors from this year may come back and swim in 2021 if GRAL does not have a season this year. If there is no 2020, season, GRAL will allow 2020 and 2021 seniors to apply for a scholarship next year in 2021. Finally, divisions will be not be recalculated at the end of 2020 (they will be frozen through 2021). 

As of now, the guidelines for Phase 3 have not been released by the Governor. Therefore, the information above is based on the assumption that there will not be strict restrictions on the number of people who may gather together. However, if we are not allowed to have more than 50 people in one place this summer, there will be no GRAL season because swim meets would be impossible, even in a dual meet format (some teams in the league are very large). 

Josh and I believe (and the rest of the Rockville Board agrees) that swim team is not solely about the meets. Swim team also encompasses camaraderie, fun, swimming skills and safety in the water (especially for our younger children), not to mention the physical and mental benefits from the exercise and being outdoors. Therefore, we would like to still hold a Rockville season, even if there is no GRAL season. If we are in Phase 2, we can certainly hold practices for the kids. We will also plan to have our own meets on Wednesday nights, where our kids compete against each other. This would provide the fun and competition of swim meets in a smaller group format. Additionally, our seniors would then have the opportunity to still have their senior swim and celebration of their accomplishments. The Rockville pool will open as soon as we enter Phase 2 and is legally allowed. We plan to begin holding swim practices at that time as well.  

In order to make any of this possible, we need you to register for the team. We need to know what our numbers are so we can make decisions about how to move forward. If you do not plan to participate in swim team, we would appreciate a reply to this email so we can get an estimate of how many kids we will have. We are using paper registrations this year, and the form is attached. There is no late fee or official registration deadline. However, if you are planning to swim, we need your registrations. If we don’t get enough swimmers, we will not be able to have a team at all. If that happens (there is no team), and you have already registered and paid, we will issue you a full refund.  

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Julie Zubris

Registration Form: http://www.rockvillecenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/2020-Swim-Team-Registration-Form.pdf