Temporary pool taking shape

There’s little to suggest that the interior of the Mitchell Aquatic Club’s new home was once an auto-repair shop.

Members and volunteers have spent hundreds of hours transforming the former Campbell Supply’s automotive service center at 1401 N. Main St. into the home of a temporary, above-ground, indoor pool that will be the club’s headquarters and practice area until a permanent home is found.

The group lost its longtime swimming pool at the Mitchell Middle School last summer when the district closed the indoor pool to eliminate its annual maintenance costs.

A four-lane, 32-by-83 foot practice pool costing between $50,000 and $70,000 now sits waiting to be filled with more than 300,000 gallons of water, and MAC Coach Chuck Baechler said the team’s morale and sense of unity are strong.

“We added about four kids to the team this year, in terms of people who are competing in meets,” Baechler said. “What was even more surprising is we didn’t have people jump ship for other sports or programs.”

The club received $17,800 from the local Board of Education and $30,000 from the City Council to assist with the project. An undisclosed amount of club funds have also been used.

While the team is waiting for the new pool to be filled and for other work to be completed, the team will continue to practice in Huron.

Baechler said he hopes the city, Avera Queen of Peace Health Services and Dakota Wesleyan University will eventually partner with the program and assist with the establishment of a permanent facility.

Until then, the team will practice at their Main Street location and continue to raise funds to keep the program going.

“We’re having to become more creative in terms of revenue,” Baechler said. “It’s a matter of sustaining the infrastructure of the program, maintain the facility, coaching budget and those kinds of things so we can get the kids to the meets they need to swim at.”

Baechler said the program has more than 100 families participating, and the swimmers include students, masters swimmers older than 18, and preschoolers in the “minnows” program, which teaches water safety.

With work still left to be done on the temporary location, Baechler is excited for the day when the familiar sounds of aquatic competition will be heard echoing off the walls.

“The program itself is continuing to get better,” Baechler said. “I don’t see any reason for that to change.”

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