The condition of the roof is "beyond reasonable repair" and the cost to repair the problem is "prohibitively high," Russell Carey '91 MA'06, interim vice president for campus life and student services, and Director of Athletics Michael Goldberger wrote April 27 in an e-mail to Brown swimmers and divers.
A final decision won't be made until the Corporation, the University's top governing body, has a chance to discuss the issue at its May meeting, but it is increasingly likely that Brown will not have an on-campus swimming pool for the foreseeable future.
The University "has been reviewing various alternatives" and has begun preliminary explorations into the cost of a new swim center, Carey and Goldberger wrote in the e-mail.
The swim center's closure puts University officials and athletes in a difficult situation - the center was the central training facility for the men's and women's swimming and diving teams and the men's and women's water polo teams. The men's and women's squash teams also use the swim center's squash courts for practice and training space, though they play their home matches in the Pizzitola Sports Center. Several other teams utilized the pool for cross-training.
The swim center also has approximately 280 community swim memberships, according to Goldberger.
The swimming locker rooms, lobby entrance area and squash courts were all recently renovated. The facility was among the better aquatic facilities in the Ivy League, multiple Brown swimmers and divers told The Herald.
Problems in the 34-year-old facility, which contains two pools and six squash courts, were first noticed in November. The swim center was closed for four weeks in December and January to install temporary support beams in the roof. It reopened briefly from Jan. 17 to Feb. 13 but was closed again after the building's architect, Daniel Tully, completed a more thorough review of the structure and determined that it was unsafe for use.
The e-mail from Carey and Goldberger suggests that University officials have reached a preliminary decision to start the next academic year without an on-campus swimming facility. The administrators wrote that Director of Swimming and Aquatics Peter Brown and men's and women's water polo Head Coach Jason Gall are "in the midst of identifying local natatoriums for practice and competition next year." The e-mail also stated that the University is "committed to providing training trips and other opportunities to athletes to enhance their experience," indicating the likelihood that teams will be traveling to train and compete next year.
Many aquatics athletes told The Herald they are frustrated with the University's apparent decision to begin next year without an on-campus swimming facility. Many expressed concern about the teams' competitiveness and the significant effect traveling to off-campus training sites would have on their academics.
"I think I can speak for the entire team to say that we are pretty displeased with the situation," said Kevin Hug '08, a member of the men's swim team.
"I think it's ridiculous," said Michael Gartner '09, a leading scorer on the men's water polo team. "How many major colleges - let alone Ivy League schools - don't have a pool that people can use? And it's not just athletes either who are affected - it's people who are at the University and want to swim but can't."
Gartner said a large part of his decision to come to Brown was the strength of the water polo program, and he is now concerned about the program's quality going forward.
"Not having a pool is going to be a huge problem for attracting recruits," he said. "I think it's a really tough situation for our team as well. Not being able to have a home game is devastating."
Gartner and many other aquatics athletes told The Herald they would like to see the University construct a temporary pool to sustain the aquatic programs while plans for a permanent facility are developed.
Hug agreed that constructing a temporary pool would be the best short-term solution to the problem for the aquatics teams. Gartner said it was unreasonable to expect teams to maintain their current level of training and competitiveness if they were forced to travel to off-site facilities.
"Yeah, we can travel, but it's just frustrating not to be able to go swim. Generally we spend (more than 10 hours) a week practicing. If you add 4-5 hours of travel time just for practice, it's pretty hard to keep up with the academic workload," Gartner said.
Gartner said the thought of transferring to another college had crossed his mind, but academic reasons and loyalty to his teammates made him decide to remain at the University. But Gartner expressed frustration with both the level of communication with University officials and the pace of the decision-making process.
"I think the administration has done a horrible job talking to us. I feel like their attitude is, 'You don't have a pool, but deal with it,' " he said.
Richard Alexander '09, a member of the men's swim team, said he found it "embarrassing" that the University does not have a functioning swimming pool.
Alexander said he has been meeting with Professor of Biology Ken Miller '70 P'02, the swimming and diving team's academic liaison, about ways to increase faculty and administration support for the team. Miller was on the swim team as an undergraduate at Brown.
"It's frustrating to be treated like a lower-level sport despite the fact that we have achieved at the national level," Alexander said. "It's been almost three months since the pool was closed, and to date we've seen no real progress."
Gerrit Adams '08, a member of the men's water polo team, was more diplomatic about the current situation.
"I think it's a setback, and yes I would prefer to have a pool next year, but I think (the men's water polo team) will be successful regardless," he said. "It's a difficult situation and it's taken a long time to resolve. I don't understand how (University officials) could not have known earlier, especially since there are structural problems in the facility."
Adams wasn't optimistic about the prospect of installing a temporary pool. "I'm predicting that we will be doing a lot of traveling next year," he said.
Brown, the swimming coach, said he feels that the situation is manageable.
"It's a workable situation. It's viable, it's plausible to make this work. I honestly feel that way," he said.
Brown said he has not yet had extensive contact with incoming freshmen about the situation, but that he was aware that some athletes may decide to transfer. He also said a final decision on the outcome of the situation is far from certain. "There are still decisions to be made. It's a work in progress," he said.
Water polo coach Jason Gall could not be reached for comment.
Stephanie Laing '10, a goalkeeper on the women's water polo team, told The Herald that the constant traveling had already placed additional academic strain on the athletes.
"Our team was able to come together when the pool closed this past semester. No one quit, everyone stayed positive and was really supportive of each other," she wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. "But I think it's unreasonable to ask our team to travel again next year considering how much we all suffered academically."
"Not knowing what's going to happen with the pool is so frustrating," she wrote. "We had a great season, but we're going to need to be able to replace graduating seniors with recruits, and recruits aren't going to want to play polo for a school that doesn't have a pool."
The women's water polo team did not play a home match after Feb. 11 this season and practiced at pools throughout the region.
Kai Robinson '08, one of the University's top divers, said he is weighing his options for next year and deciding whether or not he will return to the Brown diving program. Even if the University were to build a temporary pool, he said, it would be unlikely that he would be able to continue his diving career because it is extremely expensive to build a temporary pool deep enough to allow three-meter diving.
"I envision myself being completely frustrated with the training situation and pool situation next year," Robinson said, adding that it would be difficult for him to maintain the level of training necessary to compete at a high level if he has to travel to other facilities.
Carey told The Herald that the University is aware of athletes' frustration with the situation and that administrators are working to address their concerns.
"We are still looking at various options," he said. "Unfortunately, the expense associated with each is quite high. The Corporation will need to determine how best to balance this need with the overall needs of the University."
Carey refused to say what caused the deterioration in the strength of the beams that support the roof of the swim center. He also said he could not disclose whether the University had reached a conclusion internally about what caused the deterioration.
Carey said he was unaware of any attempts by athletes to transfer, but that the University would assist students who decide to leave Brown based on the lack of a swimming facility.
"Individual students and their families have to make the best decision for themselves based on their needs," he said. "Obviously, we hope that they feel invested enough in Brown to stay here."
Carey declined to specifically address whether he felt it was reasonable for athletes to proceed next season without an on-campus aquatics facility.
"It would be speculation on my part to say whether the situation next year will be reasonable or optimal. I want to emphasize that we are extremely aware of the demands placed on students with the closure of the Smith Swim Center," he said. "Both coaches (Brown and Gall) are confident that we can arrive at a manageable situation. We want to reach the best solution given the resources and constraints that we have."
Goldberger, who is chairing the Ivy League athletics meeting this week, declined to comment for the article.
