Jones Valley Recreation Association

Walking past the neighborhood pool last night and hearing the sounds of cheering children for the weekly swim meet brought back such memories. Let me be clear — I haven’t been to JVRA in years. But considering I spent every day of my summers there from age 4 until moving to college, it holds a special place in my heart.
There’s a main pool with a shallow end for kids, a regular lap area (6 lanes), and a deep end with a couple of 1m springboards. There’s also a kiddie pool and a junior pool. There’s a covered patio area for picnics and such. Sure the whole thing smells of chlorine, but the staff always took pride in maintaining the facilities.
They also have tennis courts and offer lessons and clinics, but my strength was always in the water.
My love for JVRA was solidified by my participation in summer swim team. At the time we were the city league champions for 4 or 5 years running. It helped that we had 2 swimmers who went on to become Olympians. I’m still proud when I talk to my parents each July and my mom tells me that they’re league champions again (since 2005, according to the website).
This pool really is family oriented. The life guards grow up through the swim team and then become the coaches. The 4^th of July festivities are the best — particularly the bike parade, when every kid decorates his or her bike with red, white, and blue crêpe paper.
I will always think of JVRA whenever I smell chlorine and freshly laundered towels on a warm summer evening.
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