{"id":430538,"date":"2020-05-10T08:59:40","date_gmt":"2020-05-10T15:59:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=430538"},"modified":"2020-05-24T12:01:21","modified_gmt":"2020-05-24T19:01:21","slug":"my-favorite-pools-soaking-up-the-sun-at-irvines-woollett-aquatic-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/my-favorite-pools-soaking-up-the-sun-at-irvines-woollett-aquatic-center\/","title":{"rendered":"Favorite Pools: Andy Ross Soaks Up The Sun at Irvine’s Woollett Aquatic Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

Favorite Pools. What are yours? As the swimming-less summer of 2020 draws on, the team at Swimming World\u00a0<\/em>will take a look at some of the great pools we love the most, why and what makes them so special. We\u2019d like you to join in the fun and memories with your own suggestions, either by leaving a comment or sending us a picture you took of the venue you\u2019ve chosen along with up to 300 words on why the place is one of your favorites: editorial@swimmingworld.com<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Today: Andy Ross on the wonders of Irvine’s Woollett Aquatic Center\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Is there anything better than swimming outside? Don’t tell 9-year-old me, but swimming outdoors on a warm summer day just hits differently. There are plenty of wonderful outdoor pools to choose from in my life – the Hall of Fame Aquatic Center in Fort Lauderdale<\/a>, the rock quarry in Louisville, and the Northside Aquatic Center in San Antonio. But the Woollett Aquatic Center<\/a> in Irvine, California has to take the cake as one of my favorite pools I’ve ever swum in.<\/p>\n

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The Woollett Aquatic Center the day before the 2013 Junior Nationals. Photo Courtesy: Andy Ross<\/p><\/div>\n

In the summer of 2013, my club team had a goal to send as many people to junior nationals as we could. The summer before, the meet was in Indianapolis, a pool we had swum in many times before. “The Nat” is one of the best facilities in the country and on my Mt. Rushmore of pools, but when qualifying for Junior Nationals, we wanted to go somewhere we had never been. And in 2013, the destination was Irvine, California.<\/p>\n

Long story short, my club team qualified five people to the meet that summer including yours truly. The excitement of qualifying was more about going to the state of California and swimming outside rather than being at the meet itself. This was evident by the fact that the first day we were on deck for warm-ups we took numerous pictures of just the pool and not once did we take a group photo of the five of us in front <\/em>of the pool.<\/p>\n

Being from Indiana, there was something so special about being able to travel all the way to California for a national-level meet and get a chance to get tan while doing so. And when we got our first looks at the pool, the blue and white lane lines mixed with the blue water and the sunshine, it was truly a beautiful sight.<\/p>\n

I hardly remember my races at that meet, except for the fact I went out way too fast in my 200 breast heat and died pretty badly on the last 50. However, I really just remember how proud I felt to be walking on that deck. I had qualified to swim in a national level meet and was swimming in a facility where many great swimmers had swum like Jason Lezak\u00a0<\/b>and Jessica Hardy<\/strong>. Duel in the Pool, Pan Pacs and US Nationals had all been held at that pool, and as a huge swimminig fan, it was an honor to be swimming at a meet in that facility. That meet was also particularly stacked with future Olympic talent like Caeleb Dressel\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Gunnar Bentz<\/strong> and it was such an important experience in my own swimming career to reflect on and think “yes, I swam at that meet.”<\/p>\n

My Favorite Races<\/strong><\/p>\n