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Canal Winchester shifts pool hours and adds pre-registration to preserve JRD swim team
Summary
City staff altered pool hours to 12–7 p.m., added a dedicated practice window to preserve the Joint Rec District swim team, introduced one weekly Wednesday meet, a senior-swim hour, and a day-pass pre-registration requirement to be completed at city hall.
Canal Winchester city staff and council reworked pool operations to preserve the Joint Rec District (JRD) swim team and to standardize public access for summer 2026.
Mrs. Jackson, the city’s finance/parks staff lead, told council the pool’s regular operating hours will shift from 12–8 p.m. to 12–7 p.m. to free up early-evening time for the JRD swim team. "Doing this will allow the JRD swim team to get into the pool at last whistle at 6:45 to start their practices," she said. Council members said the change was prompted when the team faced losing its coach and practice window.
Staff also said the city will host one Wednesday swim meet this summer when the pool will close at 4 p.m. to the public to allow the event, and Columbus Pool Management will provide a morning senior-swim hour—likely 10:45–11:45 a.m., Monday through Thursday. Staff described the last hour of the prior schedule as typically low-use and noted nearby pools operate on similar hours.
To manage day visitors, the city will require all non-member daily-pass visitors to pre-register and be verified at city hall (no fee for verification). Mrs. Jackson said the registration requires a one-time photo and that staff will publicize the process and run a pool open-house to streamline signups. "It is going to take a few minutes of your time. It is going to require a picture of each individual who wishes to visit the pool," she said, adding that once registered, visitors may come to the pool without repeating the process during the season.
Council members asked staff to communicate the changes clearly to residents and to coordinate sign-up and outreach through event staff and partners. Staff cautioned that the implementation period may be disruptive during the transition but expressed optimism about the changes for both the pool and the swim team.
The ordinance changing pool rates (Ordinance 26-007) was adopted by council during the meeting; staff said publication of new fees and the pre-registration process will follow.
