This public pool was renovated back in 2022, updating in many ways the original 1960s design with new locker rooms and other improvements--a new waterslide was also added in 2023. The pool itself is large and unless swim meets are underway, the majority of it is for open swim most of the time. Two or three lanes are normally reserved for lap swimmers as well but for me, as a diver, my main attraction is the dive well. The pool has a dive well which is connected to the rest of the pool but normally cordoned off via the swim lanes. There are two 1M and two 3M springboards and these are open to the public if dive practice or other events like artistic swimming practice are not taking place. There is also a dive tower with 3M, 7M, and 10M platforms but this is only accessible for dive teams and other serious divers who have authorization--as a diver who has used it I very much appreciate its presence because 10M platforms are very, very, hard to find outside of universities in the US. (For other divers, yes, I know the heights are weird and 5M and 7.5M are standard today--I don't know why the two lower platforms are strange heights.)
So, to recap, plenty of American public pools have removed even their 3M springboards for liability and other silly reasons and yet here we have, in Gainesville, springboards and even a tower. In fact, all three our Gville public pools have both 1M and 3M springboards which is insanely good fortune. I don't think Jax or Orlando can even claim this. Beyond diving, it's simply a really nice pool: they play great music over the stereo, the lifeguards are in my experience all super-chill, super-competent, folks and you see everyone from swim teams to older serious swimmers to kids splashing around having a grand ole time. This is one of the real success stories of Gainesville's parks and rec programs in my view. read more