Adult Lap Swim 2016 Registration is Open

If you’ve been reading We Heart Astoria for a while, you know that I have a special place in my heart for the summer Adult Lap Swim program at Astoria Pool. I’ve participated for many years and I absolutely love it. It’s a great way to get/stay fit, a nice way to meet other Astorians of all shapes, sizes, ages, and genders—and it’s free. This year, Lap Swim goes from Tuesday, July 5 to Friday, September 2 and the pool is open Monday through Friday. And you can now register here—exciting!

As has been the case in past years, participants who swim 25+ miles over the almost 10 weeks allotted to the program receive a t-shirt and an invite to the city-wide party at the end of the season. There are also awards given to the top three male and female distance swimmers at each pool and in each session—in my experience it means swimming at least a mile and a half (48 lengths) each day. You are responsible to keeping count of your lengths, too (NB: 32 lengths is a mile).

The sessions are split into Early Bird and Night Owl; Early Bird is 7-8:30am and Night Owl is 7-8:30pm (July) or at dusk (August – September). For folks who are not morning persons and whose commute gets them home around 7pm, Night Owl seems to work the best. If you’re like me (morning person, work from home), Early Bird is the way to go. I also like Early Bird because the pool waters have had a whole night to settle down and leaves and such tend to sink to the bottom.

Here’s the registration info, but TL;DR—register online it at all possible, but you can register on site with paper and pen, too, it will just take longer. NOTE: in the past we’ve found that showing your registration on your phone doesn’t cut it, though that’s inconsistent from year to year, so it’s wise to print out your registration form anyway.

Registration for the summer 2016 lap swim program will take place online. Registration will begin at 4am on Monday, June 13. If you do not have access to a computer to register or do not know how to navigate the website to complete the registration, you may visit the lap swim pool site and complete a paper registration form during lap swim program hours. Paper registration forms filled out at the pool must be completed prior to swimming in the program. There may be a waiting period for participants visiting the pool to fill out the paper registration form. To avoid waiting we ask that you register online.

All online participants are required to present their registration confirmation form to the aquatic specialist working at the pool during their first visit. Applicants can choose to print the confirmation email out or simply show the email on their phone to the aquatic specialist. A season admission card will be issued to applicants on the first day that they participate in the program. All participants must check their admission card at the pool entrance each day. If the card is lost or stolen, a replacement card will be issued. All swimmers must have a card to gain admission to the program. There is no charge.

Above all, be cognizant of your swimming ability/speed and swim the lane (slow, medium, fast) that appropriately fits it. It makes everyone’s experience better. And also know that you might get faster as the season progresses, which means leveling up in the lanes. It’s a very satisfying thing.

See you at the pool!