It’s time to start thinking about joining a pool with spring right around the corner. Just about everyone in Charlotte is a member of the YMCA, so you may be thinking to yourself “why should I join a pool when I can swim at the Y?”
All of the YMCA’s in Charlotte have incredible facilities but I found once I had little ones, I needed a less-crowded pool. The Y pools are full of campers through most of the summer so they are jam-packed any day of the week. Now don’t get me wrong, we love the Y and swim at it often. But we love our neighborhood pool for so many reasons.
At our neighborhood pool, we get to hang out with our neighbors daily and the children really enjoy seeing the same friends, day in and day out. You can drink alcohol at your neighborhood pool – this is key at our pool during the summertime! There’s nothing like an ice-cold cocktail while you’re grilling burgers and the children are completely entertained. Your neighborhood pool is substantially less crowded than the Y at all times of the day. Birthday parties are very inexpensive at your neighborhood pool. This will come in handy for our fam since we have two summer birthdays. The swim teams are incredible – such a cheap way to strengthen your child’s swimming skills and they love it. The kiddie pools are much more doable at a smaller pool. Ours is fenced in and separate from the main pool so with twins, this is very manageable. In addition to swimming, most clubs have swim and racquet facilities. So the tennis aspect is very enticing to many. I have always dreamed of being a “tennis mom”, at least for a brief period of time. Well that hasn’t happened yet and it’s not looking like it will any time soon. But the option is there. Also, the social calendar is full of fun parties. Our pool has so many social events throughout the summer and we have lots of super-cool members.
So how much does it cost to join a pool? Well that depends on what pool you’re looking at and they seem to vary quite a bit. I’m going to take a wild guess that this can cost anywhere from $500-a few thousand dollars for your initiation fees. Your annual dues are usually close to $500 or so. Our pool has an initiation fee of $1,000 and annual dues of $500 and this seems to be pretty average.
I’m thinking that this year will be my year when I can take all four of mine to the pool by myself. All of my kids took infant survival swimming lessons, including the twins. So my older two are pretty good swimmers and they can help with the twins this year. The twins will take a refresher swimming course this spring, so they should be good to go this summer, as long as they don’t dive off the diving board!
What are your experiences with your pool?
15 comments
I agree with you about the Y. I am also a mom of 4 and I prefer a smaller neighborhood pool so I can keep up with everyone. We belong to Olde Providence Racquet Club and love it.(members come from all over) For the most part, it is neer crowded during the week. Small, nice grill and great playground all within the pool area so you can have your kids close by. The baby pool is fenced in too which I love.
Fortunately, our neighborhood has a great pool that is included in our HOA, and I plan on being there EVERY day this summer with my daughter and all of her playgroup friends!!!
We belong to Mountainbrook pool and it is the best investment that we have made! The pool is never crowded (except on July4th), easy to get in and out of with all our gear, fun people from our neighborhood, nice little playground and track area and a good tennis program. So close to the house that we can go for 40 minutes if we want and not feel like it was a huge undertaking getting everyone ready and out the door.
I am a member of Windyrush Country Club (in Olde Providence). It has a slide, baby pool, playground, snack bar with hot food, swim team…the works! Great investment!
We belong to Beverly Woods East pool and love it!!! Friendly members, fun and organized swim team, plenty of shade and lots of friends to play with! Great deal for summer fun.
We belong to Fairmeadows Swim and Racquet club and seems to be one of the least expensive in town. You won’t see too many bells and whistles but it does have two basketball courts, two tennis courts, a pool that is getting a new pump this year, upgraded bathrooms and a fenced in baby pool. The dues are around $400 per year with no initiation fee. They also offer a special rate for single parents. It is definitely worth a look.
We live/belong to the pool in Cameron Wood. I’m looking for someone who might be interested in teaching my 2 1/2 yr old swim lessons– she’s had some instruction at the YMCA but I’d like to stay closer to home this summer. Any one have any suggestions, please post!
Our neighborhood doesn’t have a pool and the Y is too hectic for my toddler (plus they don’t have a “summer swim” membership only). What’s the best way to find neighborhood pools or clubs that allow outside members? I’m located off Providence in the south side of town.Thanks for any help!
The Charlotte Swim & Racquet Club is located in Cotswold and very convenient for many of the in-town neighborhoods. The FAQ page on their website has information about membership. http://www.charlotteswim.com
In response to anonymous in Cameron Wood…just a little secret – several of the Harris Y guards, instructors, and swim coaches will provide private swim lessons at your pool. You just have to ask them. Also, check with your club’s swim coach. Usually, they’ll either provide lessons or can refer you to people that will.
jen, where can my little ones take infant survival swimming lessons? i didn’t know there was such a thing.mbc
Is there a list somewhere of all the swim clubs that are open to people who don’t live in the neighborhood? We don’t have one in our neighborhood but don’t know what ones would be around. We are near Charlotte Latin. We aren’t interested in the Y.
Many neighborhood pools are open to others outside the neighborhood, for the person out by Latin, Providence Plantation Pool would be an option. We dont live in Mountainbrook but that is where we go, I am sure most of them are that way unless it is included in the neighborhood dues.
Anyone belong to or heard anything about SouthPark Swim and Tennis Club? Thanks!
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