Thanks to the Gazette for sharing the results of its 2025 Health and Wellness Survey in a recent edition. I was not surprised that many responded that swimming was the recreational activity they wished they had more of in Sussex County. They said they want a modern, large, accessible, conveniently located facility with a diversity of classes.
Our county does not have such a facility. Local swimmers are grateful for the YMCA in Rehoboth, the Sussex Aquatic Center at Sussex Academy near Georgetown, the pool at Sea Colony in Bethany, and the Boys and Girls Club in Milford. But each of these has its own issues, be it limited availability, small size, few programs, dated infrastructure or accessibility problems.
Need an example of a modern facility? Check out the websites of the YMCA in Phoenixville, Pa., or the Hockessin Athletic Club in northern Delaware. In Phoenixville, I floated in the Y’s pool with my wheelchair-bound mother. The safe, wheelchair-accessible pool gave her joy. In Hockessin, I swam laps in the club’s heated outdoor pool in February in a fundraiser for veterans. Inside, children frolicked in the recreation pool, adults soaked in the hot tub and folks exercised in a lap pool.
Why don’t we have a facility like this in Sussex County? No doubt these communities faced the same obstacles of cost, land availability, etc., as we would, and surmounted them.
This is the type of facility a growing Sussex County needs. We live in a coastal community with many bodies of water. Swimming lessons and water safety are important for youth and adults. One cannot learn to swim in a local pond, canal, river, bay or ocean. These uncontrolled environments are hazardous to non-swimmers. Community pools have no lifeguards and are too small for lap swimming.
Who will come to the rescue? The YMCA of Delaware? The county or Cape Henlopen School District, which has tried mightily to get voter approval for its proposed swim facility? A developer or investor? The state? A partnership of above? The Hockessin facility seemed to take that approach. The club was a cooperative effort of DelDOT, the club founder and the local community.
Let's make it happen Sussex!
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