Jenks Aquatic Center: Home of Tradition and Excellence
By: Ethan Adkins
The Aquatic Center lobby. On top you can see the hanging artwork that represents water flowing, which I've been told is extremely hard to clean. This space holds lots of things from people standing around waiting to shops being set up during meet days selling everything a swimmer could need from goggles to even custom sweaters and shirts.
The main pool is currently set up for the long course season (summer season) which is 50 meters long. During the fall and winter months it’s set up for short course season, which divides the pool into two 25 yard pools. The pool is used for more than just our swim teams, it also hosts open lap, where people from around Jenks come and use our pool.
The pool deck is where both of the locker rooms feed out. On the left you can see bleachers, which is where the swimmers sit and relax before practice or during meets. Further up you can see red curtains which is where the girls locker room is. The boys locker room is on the other side of the glass office. Next up you have the lifeguard room which holds all of the proper safety items to help those who need it. The glass office known as the “fish bowl”, holds the pools computers.
The equipment rooms hold almost all of the pools and swimmers equipment. You can see the pool sweep and a hose used for cleaning the pool. You can also notice counters, which help swimmers keep track of their laps during distance events. You also have all the bucket towers which help sprints with resistance training. Up top you can see the water polo goals. They are used to play at the end of each season, so the swimmers can enjoy a little more fun rather then continue with the same hard practices.
The classroom is an important part of the Aquatic Center. This space is used to hold team dinners and meetings, so the teams can become even stronger. This space is also used to host classes such as the lifeguard class. During meets, the classroom is used as hospitality where food is supplied to the officials and coaches.
The dryland gym is where teams on both the high school and club side train. This gym has bars to do pull-ups, medicine balls to do passes and slams, and boxes to do box jumps and step ups. In the back of the photo you can see rowers, which like its name suggests is a rowing machine to help athlete develop stronger backs.
The trophies of the two most recent state winning teams. The girls won by 89 points and got their 15th titles. The guys won by 44 points, got their 23rd title and 8th in 9 years. These trophies represent the 38th state titles the high school team has earned in its long tradition of excellence.
1990 and 1991 is where the tradition of excellence begins. These two trophies are the first in team history setting the record that Jenks Swimmings was going to be a force to be reckoned with for the next decades to come. The Current high school and club head coach Diego Henao, was a part of the first winning guys team in 1991.
