Gwinnett Daily Post

LILBURN - A year after the Bethesda Park Aquatic Center opened, program supervisor Amanda Groth said the facility's myriad opportunities have been good for local residents.

"We're definitely slowly growing," she said. "We've still got a lot of, "We didn't know you guys were there yet' comments."

The pool at the aquatic center is just five feet deep, so no lifeguard classes are offered and dive teams don't use the facilities. But Groth said many unique programs, such as water basketball and water volleyball, make up for what the pool is missing in depth.

There is also a number of different water aerobics classes offered, including shallow water boot camp, and learn-to-swim programs for kids and adults. Water therapy groups use the pool and the aquatic center is available for both day and evening rental for birthday parties and other events.

Groth said there is a wide variety of users, with seniors dominating the pool during the days and kids using in at night and on the weekends. In all, 61,000 people have come to enjoy the programs or for open swimming in the pool's first year, Groth said.

"We're adding in programs based on what users are needing and wanting," she said. "We've changed and grown and expanded."

The 31,040-square-foot Bethesda Park Aquatic Center includes a nearly 7,000-square-foot indoor leisure pool with beach-style access, a 100-foot-long slide that exits and then re-enters the building, a river channel, hydrotherapy benches, a water play structure, tumble buckets, a vortex and ceiling spray. The facility also boasts a four-lane, 2,500-square-foot constant-depth instructional pool and a wet classroom.

Bethesda Park Aquatic Center is located in Bethesda Park at 225 Bethesda Church Road in Lawrenceville. For more information as well as class dates and times, visit www.gwinnettparks.com or call 678-924-6334.