SJHHS Pool Open, But Not Completed

The pool at may be open, but it’s not exactly finished.

The starter blocks were positioned incorrectly, making them dangerous for swimmers exiting the pool. They hang over the pool by about a foot instead of being flush with the concrete deck.

Assistant Coach Dan Newberry told the students on  that they would have to dive into the pool from the other side’s deck and flip on the starter block side to prevent anyone from getting out on the wrong side and hitting their heads.

Another reason the blocks can't be used for meets is that the blocks shorten the race, said a representative from USA Swimming.

"For example, our Olympic-size pool of 50-meters: If you had the blocks hang over by any amount of distance, whether it be 8 inches or 1 meter, you won’t be swimming the full 50 meters," said spokesman Matt Whewell. 

The Capistrano Unified School District’s overseeing the project has made a number of change-order requests throughout the last months. The Board of Trustees signed off on the changes at Monday night's meeting, which have bumped the original price tag of $3 million to $3.24 million.

However, the request to move or replace the starter blocks was not among them.

According to an internal CUSD memo, however, new blocks were ordered several weeks ago and installation should begin Friday.

Whewell said blocks cost around $1,200-$1,300 each.

Patch contacted Capo spokesman Marcus Walton before noon Wednesday, but as of publication Thursday at 2 p.m., he had no response.