With public swimming pools and water parks only open from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the opportunities for water recreation are on a limited schedule.
Throw in a few rainy days, unseasonably cool weather and an early start to the school year and attendance is often affected.
However, that hasn’t kept a large number of local residents from soaking up the sunshine and splashing in the water on the nice days in June.
According to weather.com, there were only 18 days during that month when the temperature reached the normal average high of 83 degrees. Clouds were overcast on several of those days, making it unattractive to many of those wanting to enjoy an outdoor activity.
The website also reported nine days of rain in the month.
Radcliff Parks and Recreation Director Tim Jeffries said that is one reason the attendance at the Radcliff pool was down 38% from the same period a year ago.
“Obviously those colder temperatures really affected us,” he said. “We haven’t had the attendance we’ve hoped for.”
Alternatively, Jeffries is pleased with the interest in the water programs that the department is offering.
“All of our classes are full,” he said. “The swim lessons and the Zumba classes that we have on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 6:30 p.m. have been well attended. We’ve just had to cancel them some days because it has been so cold or storming.”
He is hoping for a warm July to help make up for the lower attendance. With school starting in early August, he knows there will be even fewer opportunities for busy days at the park.
“We get a little tight on staffing when school starts,” Jeffries said. “A lot of our workers are in high school and are involved in extracurricular activities like band and sports. When school starts, they hit the ground running with those things. We have a few college kids but they are also getting ready to go back to school.”
The American Legion Water Park in Elizabethtown also has seen a drop in attendance in the opening weeks of the season. In June 2022, they had 21,000 visitors while just less than 14,000 this year.
“We had a big jump last year because E-town Swim and Fitness was doing some work and they were shut down for a while,” said Seth Breitner, director of Elizabethtown Parks and Recreation. “But obviously, weather is the key. I don’t think we were closed one day last June because of the weather, but there were several days, especially in the past few weeks, that we’ve had to close.”
Private parties and lessons are not included in their attendance numbers, Breitner said, but the demand for those remains high. Breitner does not think the dramatic rise in the number of private pools has affected the popularity of community pools.
Nick Knight, marketing director at Fort Knox, says attendance at the Fort Knox Water Park and the Anderson Indoor Aquatics Center is higher than in previous years.
The park was closed for six days in June because of the weather, but total attendance is up slightly for the year.
“This surge in visitors is a testament to the quality of our facilities and the unique experience we offer our guests,” he said. “Our park offers the perfect blend of fun water slide attractions and leisurely swimming areas, catering to guests who are looking to make a splash as well as those who simply want to relax and float under the sun.”
In addition to swim classes, Fort Knox has some other special programs planned to attract even more visitors. One of them has a special visitor making a guest appearance.
“Our upcoming Christmas in July event (July 25) will feature a holiday-themed celebration, complete with a surprise visit from Santa Claus himself,” Knight said.
He said the Army also is making renovations at the Anderson Pool.
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