Who we are
About us
Friends of Washtenaw County Aquatics is a volunteer steering committee made up of people from the Washtenaw County swimming community. We came together because we believe our community needs a serious conversation about the future of aquatics. Over the past decade, the county has lost significant pool space, learn-to-swim opportunities, and year-round access to the water. Those losses did not happen all at once, but together they have made it harder for families, schools, teams, and community programs to find the water they need.
Plainly stated
Where we are today
FWCA is currently an all-volunteer steering committee made up of people from the Washtenaw County swimming community. We are not yet incorporated or recognized as a 501(c)(3), we do not hold funds or accept donations, and we have no formal agreement with a government body, school district, university or other organization.
We do not speak on behalf of any of them. Many committee members are involved with Club Wolverine and other local aquatics programs, but members participate in FWCA as individuals.
How this started
Where the group came from
Our group grew out of conversations among people deeply involved in local swimming — as coaches, board members, parents, officials, instructors, and swimmers. Many of us are involved with Club Wolverine, and that experience has given us a firsthand view of both the strengths of our local aquatics community and the growing shortage of available pool space. The closure of Ann Arbor's middle school pools added urgency to those conversations, and Eastern Michigan University's announcement that Jones Natatorium will close in 2027 made it clear that the community needs to start planning for what comes next.
We are still at the beginning of that process. Our work today is focused on research, listening, building relationships, and determining whether a new year-round aquatics center could be financially sustainable and genuinely useful to the broader community. We want to work with the schools, municipalities, universities, swim programs, and other community organizations that already provide aquatics opportunities throughout Washtenaw County.
What we're working toward
Bigger than a pool for competitive swimming
Our vision is bigger than building a pool for competitive swimming. A successful aquatics center could support learn-to-swim programs, water safety, recreation, therapy and rehabilitation, lap swimming, school and club programs, and competitive events. Most importantly, we want to help create more access to the water for people throughout Washtenaw County — and we are looking for community members and organizations who can help us shape that vision and determine how to make it a reality.
There's room here
We're short on people who know municipal finance, grant writing, real estate, and community organizing in the eastern half of the county. If that's you, we'd like to talk.
Our meetings aren't open yet. Our door is.
We meet monthly and talk most weeks. For now those are working sessions rather than public ones — a small group getting through a lot of unglamorous research. But we bring in guests regularly, whenever someone has information or expertise the group needs: municipal finance, facility operations, grant funding, aquatics programming, site development. If that describes you, say so and we'll make room on an agenda.