Summer starts here: Water park to open

It's time to break out the swimsuits, sunscreen and water wings as municipal swimming pools and water parks in the area prepare to open this weekend.

Cape Splash Family Aquatic Center, Cape Girardeau's water park adjacent to the Osage Centre on North Kingshighway, will kick off its 10th season when it opens at 11 a.m. Saturday.

"We've been working every day preparing for Saturday's opening," said Jordan Eastridge, marketing coordinator for the Cape Girardeau Parks & Recreation Department. Those preparations have included everything from filling the "lazy river" and power washing lounge chairs to making sure lifeguards are trained and certified.

The Parks and Recreation Department has hired more than 100 lifeguards for the summer and has been conducting lifeguard and water park certification classes for them.

According to Eastridge, it takes 22 lifeguards, nine slide attendants and a lifeguard manager to oversee pool safety on a daily basis.

The water park has averaged 80,000 patrons each summer during its first nine years of operation "and our staff is expecting another busy season for 2019," Eastridge said.

Cape Splash opened in the spring of 2010 and has been enhanced over the years with the addition of several new water features such as a splash pad and other water attractions.

The aquatic center's standard hours of operation are 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. daily until Aug. 12 when it will be open on Saturdays and Sundays only through the Labor Day weekend when the season ends.

Full-day admission fees at Cape Splash have increased by $1 this season. Admission price for youth and adults, ages 14 through 59, is $8. The admission fee is $7 for children, ages 1 through 13, and for seniors, ages 60 and older. Infants less than a year old are free. Season passes are also available and are priced at $65 for children and seniors, and $75 for adults.

Special programs and events for children and adults are scheduled throughout the summer.

The Central Municipal Pool, on Clark Street adjacent to Cape Central Junior High School, is also available for recreational swimming and fitness laps.

Information about hours and events for both Cape Girardeau aquatic facilities, as well as listings for special programs Cape Splash, can be found online at www.cityofcapegirardeau.org/aquatics.

Jackson

Jackson Municipal Swimming Pool in Jackson City Park will open at 1 p.m. Saturday.

“We’re ready to go,” said G. Kirk Williams who manages the pool. “We’re fully staffed and we’re set for good crowds throughout the summer.”

The Jackson pool hours are 1 to 6 p.m. daily. The pool will be closed July 4 and on some Saturdays to accommodate swim meets, although the dates of those competitions have not been determined.

Admission is $3 per person Monday through Saturday. Sundays are designated as “Family Day” at the pool and the admission fee on those days is $1.50. Children, age 4 and younger, are admitted free at the Jackson pool as long as they are accompanied by a paid admission.

For those interested in lap swimming only, the Jackson pool is available from noon to 1 p.m. on weekdays starting June 10.

Swimming lessons and other programs are also available at the Jackson pool, and the pool can be rented for private parties. Coupon books, valid for 25 discounted pool admissions, are also available for purchase at the pool.

More information about programs, services and pricing at the Jackson Municipal Pool is available at www.jacksonmo.org/pool.

Scott City

The 2019 swimming season at Scott City Swimming Pool will begin with a free pool party Saturday that will feature games, contests and prizes. The pool will open at 11 a.m., with events scheduled throughout the afternoon.

“This will be our second annual opening day pool party,” according to Skylar Cobb, Scott City’s parks and recreation director, who said one of the big highlights of the day will be a cardboard boat contest.

“We’ll give teams cardboard, duct tape and a pair of scissors and they’ll have an hour to build a cardboard boat,” Cobb said. “At the end of the hour, someone, usually a child, will try to paddle the boat across the pool.” Some of the boats will make it, but many of them won’t, he said.

The cardboard boat contest will be at 1 p.m. Other events will include a diving contest at noon, a sponge relay at 2 p.m., a belly flop contest at 3 p.m., followed by a relay race and water balloon fight at 4 p.m.

Regular pool hours in Scott City are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Fridays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays and 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays. Starting Aug. 1, the pool will open at 1 p.m. during the week.

Admission is $2 except on Sundays when the admission fee is $1. Children, ages 2 and younger, are free. Season passes are available for $50 for individuals or $150 for families of up to six people.

Pool parties, swimming lessons and aquatic fitness classes will also be available throughout the summer. In addition, the Scott City pool will host “Food Pantry Fridays” every Friday, starting May 31, when swimmers can bring two or more canned or other nonperishable food items to the pool for free admission. All donated items will be given to the Scott City Food Pantry.

More details about the Scott City pool programming can be found on the Scott City Parks and Recreation Department Facebook page.

Chaffee

A spokesperson for Chaffee Swimming Pool could not be reached for this story.

However, according to the pool’s Facebook page, the pool will open at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The pool’s hours this summer will be 1 to 4 p.m. and 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. weekdays, and 1 to 5 p.m. on weekends. Admission is listed as $1.

jwolz@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630