I went to the brand-new Silver Spring Aquatic Center with my eight-year-old daughter. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they had a family changing room, as it is a challenge often for parents of the opposite gender of their child. This facility does not allow children in the opposite gender changing room after they turn 8 and I would not let my daughter alone in the female changing room.
The all gender changing room is nice although it seems to be more of a hallway that leads to the pool with two doors, an exposed locker room and several lockable bathrooms with showers. The reader should note at the time of this review there was no hot water in the shower (it had been weeks for a new building!). Imagine how clean the pool is if people don't shower because of the cold water? The other critical note is that the changing room has cameras (see photos). I have no problem with cameras if they are being used for safety reasons and if there is a sign saying there are cameras in the changing room and if there is a readily available policy explaining how the video will be kept secure. I would not want a nefarious individual using the recordings. Unfortunately, I only notice these cameras upon departure. So, parents should be aware of this for their children.
The other critical flaw for families is that at the weekend there is no place that children are permitted to swim until 1 pm. Apparently, they do not have enough staff to watch the very nice and large children's pool. My daughter and I resigned ourselves to using the large part of deep pool that is not used for lap swimming. We were soon approached by one of the pool managers and told that the area was going to be used for a class and we had to leave. However, the instructor was there and said that they will be using the other far end of the pool and that we were fine where we were. That was when the manager had to reveal the truth: THERE IS NO PLACE FOR A CHILD UNDER 12 until 1 pm! On the WEEKEND!!! We were then forced to leave; one can imagine how disappointed my daughter was. They refunded the entry fee. My question is who will refund the taxes that I paid for a community facility that my family can't fully utilize until my daughter turns 12. That new facility must have been very expensive for the taxpayers, too bad only a portion can use it. In summary, if you have a family be warned about the limited hours for children and the cameras watching them in front of the lockers. read more