Welcome Back

Well, it’s been a very long strange off-season and I know we are all ready to move on and start getting back to as normal as we possibly can. This season is looking like another unusual one for sure and as the COVID metrics and guidelines change we’ll just have to be open and ready to adjust as necessary. I do believe there is some light at the end of this tunnel for sure, but how soon that will play out here at the pool is yet to be determined.

I have good news in that my management team is back. Chris Matsumoto, Julie Lockhart, and Sara Berhrens are on board and have been working hard over the past several months in preparation for the season ahead. Pool operations during these times is a different beast, and I’m grateful for all of the time they’ve already put in toward getting this season underway. So, without further ado…

As you might have guessed, we will again have a reservation system in play, but we’ve moved on from Omnify, and will be using a service called Funfangle. This new service addresses some of the big issues we’d been having. We’ve been testing Funfangle for a while now and have found that it’s both more flexible and easier for both administration and for the user. We’re wrapping up the final touches on it and we’re hopeful that you also find it to be an overall better experience.

To start with, this season each family member will get 1 swim per “activity” per week. The activities are open swim, adult lap swim and open lap swim. This means that you could reserve 1 open swim, 1 adult lap swim (if you are 16 and up) and 1 open lap swim in the reservation system all at one time.

One big change with Funfangle is that we will have it set up to have a rolling reservation restriction. So, for example, if a member can have 1 reservation per 7-day period for each activity, and books an open swim on Sunday, once the open swim on Sunday is past, they could book Wednesday. Put another way, once an individual has used a reservation, it no longer counts toward their limit.

With Funfangle, the restrictions on creating new reservations will be lifted to allow for “day of” swims exactly 8 hours prior to each swim. For example, an open lap swim at 6am on Tuesday would be available as a “day of” reservation on Monday at 10pm.

Julie will once again be spearheading our reservation system and has created some instructions of how to get your account set up as well as a video link of how to do that. She’s created a FAQ sheet as well where hopefully any further questions you may have will be addressed. We will continue to update the FAQs document.

Please see details toward the end of this email on how to get started, and for more information.

Besides a reservation system again, what will be the same and what will be different? We are trying to get to a point as close to the past as we can without sacrificing anyone’s health and safety. Entering and exiting the facility will be different than last year and a bit closer to normal. The front entry to the pool will be demarcated with entry and exit lanes. No more passing through the gate. You will check in at the office upon your arrival.

Will I have to wear a mask? Although the CDC has issued new guidelines for mask wearing and vaccination, we will be following the guidelines from the state for swimming facilities, and depending on what phase we are in will determine whether or not masks will need to be worn all the time or not. For now, plan on wearing a mask, and when you are coming to check in and/or moving around the pool deck, bathrooms, etc.

What will the swim schedule look like? Is it going to be like last year? We’ve worked hard to come up with a schedule as close to what a normal summer schedule would be, but it’s still not normal. One thing that will be different than last year is that we have staggered things a bit better manage the flow of people in and out of the facility. We think this will also be helpful as we move towards lesser restrictive phasing. Please see the schedule at the end of this email for what to expect for the first part of the season.

Will there be reserved sections of the pool like last season? We will be sharing space this season. Lap lanes will be open for 2 swimmers per lane, and open swim time will be much more like a normal year, where you will be able to move around, but you will also be responsible for monitoring your own distancing between yourselves and other households. The only exception to this will be the walking lanes and those will only be available during Adult Lap Swim times with only one person per lane.

What about Early Morning Lap Swim? It’s coming, but as of yet we do not have a start date, however it is anticipated to start in mid-June.

What about Aerobics? At this time, we are not expecting to have water aerobics, but again as the summer progresses perhaps we will be in a place where this will be possible.

Will the locker rooms and showers inside be available? The guidelines are pretty strict, and our locker rooms although not small, don’t allow for adequate distancing. This is especially true in the showers. Like last year, plan on having access to the locker rooms only for use of the restroom facilities, and anticipate using the outdoor showers. In addition, plan to arrive at your swims with your swim gear already on, and then head out the door that was as well. As restrictions become looser, this could change later in the season and like many other things, we will revisit.

What about guests? We want our members to have as much access to the facility as possible, so with a limited number of swimming slots available we will not be allowing guests at this time. As the summer progresses, we hope to revisit this.

Pool parties and Rentals? At this time these will remain on hold. We will revisit this as the summer progresses.

Lessons? At this time our plan is to offer swimming lessons, although our lessons will be greatly modified from what they were in the past. We will be sending and posting more information about lessons very soon.

Will the grass area, BBQ’s and picnic tables be available? Capacity of the entire club will be limited based on the guidelines of the phase we are in at the time. We don’t see this happening in phase 2 at all but hopefully as things improve, we will be able to make these accommodations.

Basket Ball Hoop and Ping Pong? Unfortunately, both of these will be unavailable. Like so many other things we will be re-evaluating these activities as summer progresses.

I know this is a lot of information at once but thank you in advance for reading ahead and I’m looking forward to once again seeing you at the pool!


Raab


FUNFANGLE/RESERVATIONS:
We are excited to introduce a new Wedgwood reservation system for summer 2021! The new system is called “funfangle” and we hope it will be more user friendly and make the reservation process easier and more effective for everyone! I have included instructions below on how to set up your account with Funfangle. Please note, reservations WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE until Saturday May 8th at 11:30am. Reservations open 7 days prior to a swim, and the swims for Wedgwood Pool’s opening day on May 15th, will begin appearing on May 8th.  We wanted to get you the account set up information in advance so you will be ready to go when reservations open!
If you have any questions or issues with setting up your account or any other questions, contact the reservation coordinator:
Julie Lockhart
wwlessoncoordinator@gmail.com 
(252) 628 – 9620
To set up your account with Wedgwood Funfangle:
Email the wwlessoncoordinator address and Julie will send you a link for registration. (This is a private link for WW members only). Use the email for the primary account holder email to set up your account (you will use this email to log in to the account).
Follow the instructions to set up your account: WW Funfangle user guide.pdf

I have also created a step-by-step video explaining how to set up your account, add family members, and make and cancel reservations:
WW Funfangle video user guide

For information about how Funfangle is different than Omnify, reservation restrictions, and other frequently asked questions go to: FAQs WW Funfangle We will continue to update this document as questions arise.


POOL SCHEDULE:

Here is what our schedule will likely look like through June 18th.