Cannonballs, Marco Polo, swim races in the sunshine… Outdoor season comes around but once a year - and the time is now.

Today, on National Pool Opening Day, we celebrate all the seasonal pools opening for the summer months, as well as all the brand new pools welcoming swimmers into their lanes for the first time ever in 2017.

“The USA Swimming Facilities Development Department has been involved with over a dozen new projects over the past year,” said USA Swimming Facilities Development Director Mick Nelson. “Highlights for our efforts include the new indoor competition and recreational pool in Heber City, Utah and the new WEST Swim Club 3 pool indoor facility in Westmont, Illinois.”

Among those pools we celebrate the following facilities that attended USA Swimming’s Build a Pool Conference and have opened this year or will be opening to the public in the next 18 months:

Heber City, UT

• Indoor 25 yard pool

• City and high school partnership

WEST Swim Club in Westmont, IL

• Three indoor pools

Safesplash Swim School in Colorado Springs, CO

• Learn-to-swim center

• Make a Splash Partner of the USA Swimming Foundation

El Paso, TX

• Breaking ground in 2017 for two new pools, East and West sides of the city

• Includes indoor 50 meter pool which will be utilized for competition, recreation and instruction

Outdoor Pools opening this year:

• Kenilworth Recreation Center – Washington D.C.

• Springbrook Pool – Lake of the Woods, VA

• Northbrook Park District – Northbrook, IL

• Jackson Lehman YMCA – Colorado Springs, CO

• Canyon Family Aquatic Center – Canyon, TX

• Collier Pool – Corpus Christi, TX

• Lasker Park Pool – Galveston, TX

• Central Park Pool (renovation/addition) – Hurst, TX

• La Joya ISD Rec Aquatic Center – La Joya, TX

• LSU Student Rec Center – Baton Rouge, LA

• Washington Aquatic Center – Midland, TX

• McClure Park Pool – Tulsa, OK

• Westside Tennis Center – Houston, TX

On the horizon, more pools are opening in 2018. Maine will soon have the state’s first 50-meter pool as Colby College has committed to building one as part of its new athletic center. A permit is also in place for a pool in Oakbrook, Illinois, which will be the first large competition pool of its kind in the Chicago area.

Additionally, the portable 2016 Olympic Trials pools were disassembled and transported across the country- one to Santa Ynez, California and one to West Fargo, North Dakota. The cities that purchased them are assembling the facilities, which will serve as anchors for brand new swimming facilities. The project will take about 20 months total.

To find a facility near you, go to www.SwimToday.org.