Trumbull Pisces Gets a Pool, For Now

The Pool is open after a balance tank has been replaced, but more serious repairs will close it again from June to early September.

The Trumbull Pisces Swimming Program started practicing at the pool Monday night.

"Our goal is to develop everybody to be competitive and raceworthy" and have fun at the same time, said Vice President Stu Needleman. So far the team has been renting pools where possible.

At a meet in Wilton May 4,5 and 6, swimmers still reached personal best scores, Needleman said.

"They're still a good group of swimmers. They're very happy to be back at Hillcrest," Needleman said.

When the pool closes, the team will continue to seek out practice space. "We'll just take it one step at a time," the vice president said. The next step is to use the town's outdoor pools.

The Pisces board ran into problems earlier this year when the Recreation and Park boards merged. Pisces Board leadership changed and they had to comply with new rules. Swimmers who lived in town were not affected, but the out-of-town swimmers were removed from the team. Some older swimmers were moved into a new league that practices at the University of Bridgeport.

But the turbulence is behind the team now, said new Head Coach Bill Strickland, who came from the Fairfield YMCA.

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The team lost more than 20 older swimmers and gained about the same number of new, younger swimmers, keeping the group's membership at about 90.

Swimmers compete in three groups: Black and Gold and Age Group for children 12 and younger and Seniors for ages 12 to 18. Eighteen is the cutoff age. The season ends in July and swimmers get August off. During the season, swimmers practice several to six days a week, depending on age, Strickland said.

Strickland agreed that the team did well last weekend. "We had an extremely successful meet," he said. "We have coaches that are doing a very good job."

"We have a good plan for the season. Our goal is to keep things fun," he added. "We're focusing on the future right now. The kids are the team."

Meanwhile, other groups such as Early Bird Swim and will also be out a pool when it closes, said Recreation Director Mary Markham.

Schools Plant Manager Steven Kennedy has said the pool's lights, pipes and dehumidifying system needs refurbishing. He said he hopes it will add 20 years to the pool, which is 44 years old.

"Well let's hope so," said Markham. It's still an old pool, let's hope it does well."