Though by all accounts it will be a close call, the new Wayland Town Pool is scheduled to open November 29, just before Wayland High School swimmers are scheduled to dive in.

If the pool isn’t ready for the first practice, senior swim team members speculate that the Warriors will practice at night in Weston.  Though complete funding for the $2.5 million pool has not yet been achieved, construction will continue to completion.

The project is funded by the Wayland Pool Committee, a non-profit organization of Wayland residents, most of whom are parents of current swim team members.

Current funding, raised through public and private donations, totals $1.6 million, or 64% of the total fundraising goal. However, this will not result in construction stoppage. According to the website’s press releases, a local bank has offered a loan to cover the $900,000 that remains to be raised.

Despite the certainty of completion, fundraising is still necessary for the pool to stay open. “The project has moved along rapidly, we’ve been within our constraints on the budget, but we still have over $900,000 to raise, and donations of any size are welcome,” said Pool Committee Chairman Ben Downs,

According to Downs, current construction includes the installation of material into the pool bubble arch and the filling of the pool itself.  The pool arch will be filled with Kalwall, a light-transmitting material described by wlhall.com as “the highest insulating light transmitting product in the world.”

The finished pool will consist of ten swimming lanes, two diving boards, a larger pool deck than the previous facility, and seating for around 200 people.

The changing rooms have been renovated as well. “They’ll have the same shaped rooms, but they’ll look very different,” said Downs.  Changes include the installation of six one-person showers in the girls’ locker-room, renovation of the boys’ shower room, new bathroom fixtures for the boys, and new lockers for both changing rooms.

“I know the guys will be happy just to have working showers, but the extra lanes will be nice as well,” said senior and swimmer Patrick Curtin,

This project is the first major renovation of the pool since its construction. The original pool was built in 1969 to serve as the town’s community center. Funded solely by private donations, the total cost of the building was $300,000. Various lessons were offered from basic swimming to scuba diving. In 1972, the first Wayland High School swim team, comprising of only female members, was formed.

It was not until 1983 that the all-boys swim team started. Both teams have historically been very successful; the girls have won six state championships and the boys two.