Which pool to join?

[Anonymous]

We moved to McLean 22101. I know many (all?) have waitlists, so would like to get the process moving. From what I can tell Chesterbrook, Tuckahoe, Highlands, and Kent Gardens are nearby.

[Anonymous]

Personally I would choose Highlands or Tuckahoe out of all of those. Highlands has a really fun family scene.

[Anonymous]

Whichever one is attended by the most families from your elementary school/school cluster (so kids will have friends there).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whichever one is attended by the most families from your elementary school/school cluster (so kids will have friends there).

+1. We're at Chesterbook, which is a lovely pool, but we live in Arlington so don't know many families there, meaning there aren't as many playmates when we go.
Also consider whether you want your kids on swim team: ours is highly competitive and my DD won't have a chance of making it this year. My pool growing up pretty much allowed anyone to join and I had a ton of fun every summer.

[Anonymous]

get on all of the waitlists, one may be a better fit, but it may also take a few years longer to get in

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whichever one is attended by the most families from your elementary school/school cluster (so kids will have friends there).

+1. We're at Chesterbook, which is a lovely pool, but we live in Arlington so don't know many families there, meaning there aren't as many playmates when we go.
Also consider whether you want your kids on swim team: ours is highly competitive and my DD won't have a chance of making it this year. My pool growing up pretty much allowed anyone to join and I had a ton of fun every summer.

Is the swim team at Highlands competitive?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whichever one is attended by the most families from your elementary school/school cluster (so kids will have friends there).

+1. We're at Chesterbook, which is a lovely pool, but we live in Arlington so don't know many families there, meaning there aren't as many playmates when we go.
Also consider whether you want your kids on swim team: ours is highly competitive and my DD won't have a chance of making it this year. My pool growing up pretty much allowed anyone to join and I had a ton of fun every summer.

Is the swim team at Highlands competitive?

Yup. Here are the NVSL teams broken out by division. No dual meets last summer, so not sure how or even if the seeding will change for 2021.

https://www.mynvsl.com/standings?year=2019

[Anonymous]

All those pools except Kent Gardens are Div. 1 out of 17 and will be insanely competitive. Kent Gardens isn't far behind them in Div. 4.

[Anonymous]

Why are there so few public pools in VA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are there so few public pools in VA?

Ever rec center has pools and Arlington and Alexandria have aquatic centers as well.

[Anonymous]

So what is the advantage of joining a private pool?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So what is the advantage of joining a private pool?

a lot of communities in NOVA are centered around pools. Kids spend most of their summers there

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what is the advantage of joining a private pool?

a lot of communities in NOVA are centered around pools. Kids spend most of their summers there

We enjoy swimming, the kids enjoy playing in the pool, swim team is a great way to develop strong swimmers (from a safety standpoint), great way to get to know people in your community. I'm not in an HOA with a pool, so other than rec centers, I don't have access to a pool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what is the advantage of joining a private pool?

a lot of communities in NOVA are centered around pools. Kids spend most of their summers there

We enjoy swimming, the kids enjoy playing in the pool, swim team is a great way to develop strong swimmers (from a safety standpoint), great way to get to know people in your community. I'm not in an HOA with a pool, so other than rec centers, I don't have access to a pool.

Same. And IME the rec centers can be insanely crowded (except during the covid summer).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So what is the advantage of joining a private pool?

We are in Alexandria and we are looking into it for a few reasons. 1) The public pools get very crowded and you often have to wait to get in. 2) Frequent closures for "biohazard" incidents. 3) You have to leave the property and go stand on the pavement outside the pool in order to give your kid a snack.