The High School South pool bubble has finally been installed and inflated, but officials are estimating it will still be a little more than a week before the pool can be used.
This is because officials will need to have the facility inspected and electrical work completed. In the meantime, WW-P school officials have put into place a contingency plan for North and South’s swimmers to allow South to practice and compete at North.
“Even though the bubble is up and inflated, we can’t have anybody in there or using it before that is signed off — not only by the manufacturer, but also by the township, which will come in and complete that inspection,” said Gerri Hutner, the district’s director of communications.
Once everything has been approved, officials will determine the schedule for South’s swimming and diving teams to return home.
The bubble was delivered to the school at the end of last month, but installation was delayed when concerns arose with the secondary inflation unit, which did not have the louvers necessary to inflate the bubble. Without the louvers, air would constantly flow out of the unit, preventing inflation.
By November 12, all the remaining items delaying the inflation were resolved, including the the issues with the secondary inflation unit and the motor starters — which needed to be replaced — on the primary inflation unit.
The contingency plan schedules practice and meet times for both of the high school’s swim teams around each other. Practices for North will be held Monday through Friday from 3 to 5:15 p.m., while South will practice from 5:15 to 7:30 p.m. Diving practices will be held from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m.
On Saturdays and holidays, North will practice from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., while South will practice from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Diving practice will be held from 12 to 1:15 p.m.
When it comes to swim meets, North’s first is scheduled for Tuesday, December 1, at 4 p.m. versus Lawrence. South will have its swim meet against Hopewell in North’s pool the same day, at 6 p.m.
On Wednesday, December 3, when North swims at Hamilton West, South will use North’s pool for its meet against Bridgewater at 4 p.m. On Thursday, December 4, South will face Robbinsville, also in North’s pool, at 4 p.m. After the meet, North will be able to practice at 6 p.m. and set up for the Knights Invite that weekend.
On Tuesday, December 8, North will face Hopewell at home at 4 p.m., while South is away. North will face Robbinsville at 4 p.m. on Thursday, December 10, at home, while South is away yet again. South and North will compete against each other on Tuesday, December 15. And on Thursday, December 17, South will face Trenton in North’s pool at 4 p.m. while North is away.
All diving meets in December are away.
Delays in construction of the new structure caused worry among members of South’s swim team, as well as parents and coaches, who feared the delays would hamper the team’s ability to continue its recent success. School officials said they were doing everything they could to have the bubble installation — part of the 2006 construction referendum — finished before the season, but that the delays were out of their control.
The bubble is an air-tight structure that guards against the winter weather. Complications with state fire codes forced the board to rewrite the bid specifications before the project was awarded in March to AC Construction Corp., of Woodbridge, for $446,000.
