High Praise from Students

by Wayne Witt

THE ACCOLADES HAVE COME FAST AND FURIOUSLY since last fall when the Ann Barshop Natatorium was dedicated, but no higher praise can be offered than that which came from an Incarnate Word student-athlete.

"I never dreamed I would be swimming competitively at the college level," said sophomore Mark McFarland, "That was until the pool was opened. I swam as a youth back home (in Houston, TX and before that Bartlesville, OK), but I never thought I would be swimming here."

McFarland and his teammates, both male and female, recently competed in the New South Intercollegiate Swimming Championships and McFarland reached the finals in both the freestyle and backstroke events.

"This is a great pool for training and competing because we are able to switch between yards and meters," said the mathematics major, "Everything from the team perspective is high quality."

Any type of "world cup" water event can be conducted in the natatorium - swimming, diving, water polo and synchronized swimming. The pool is measured in yards from north to south for American events and in meters from east to west for international competition. The pool also includes a pair of three-meter diving boards and a pair of one-meter boards.

But the natatorium is not all about competitions. The multi-use facility, which encompasses more than 30,000 square feet, was designed for multiple uses. Above all, it is an educational facility, a site for learning, for teaching and for hands-on training for students as well as instructors.

There are two principal teaching spots - a classroom as well as an area for the University's new Bachelor of Science degree program in athletic training and sports medicine. There is ample space to house the coaches and staff of the Crusader athletic department. Additionally, there are five locker rooms for use by student-athletes as they represent the University around the nation.

The natatorium is also about community involvement, a continuing theme of the University.

Already the Natatorium has hosted numerous high school water polo tournaments. The University's own synchronized swimming team also has hosted a wintertime schedule of competition featuring the likes of Ohio State University, Stanford University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. And neighbors of Incarnate Word are becoming members at the natatorium in increasing numbers as word of the facility spreads through the community.

"Everything will only get bigger and better," said McFarland. "Our teams will increase in numbers and more students will enjoy this pool."

The nearly one and a half million gallons of water in the pool are recycled in just six hours. The pool ranges in depth from four feet at the shallow end to 13 feet immediately under the diving boards. The bleachers can accommodate up to 150 spectators.

There are 100-foot candles of light for nighttime events. The state-of-the-art Daktronics scoreboard is fully electronic for all water sports.