Family fun planned for the public on Memorial Day at ‘new’ Sarasota pool owned by nonprofit

Miracle Swimming for Adults to offer lessons, a picnic area and a water slide at its facility on McIntosh Road in Sarasota

Miracle Swimming for Adults renovated a pool on McIntosh Road in Sarasota for use in classes. Contributed photo

From 1 to 5 p.m. on Memorial Day — Monday, May 29 — Miracle Swimming for Adults (MSA) will open its outdoor pool to the community for a holiday afternoon of swimming fun and a free lesson for adults and children, the nonprofit has announced.

The pool, located at 582 McIntosh Road in Sarasota, was renovated last year by MSA and is in its first season as a venue for teaching adults to swim, a news release explains. “Heaters donated by Miracle Swimming graduates enable the pool to be warm year-round: 88-92 degrees, ideal for learning,” the release adds.

As the first pool dedicated to helping adults learn to swim, it hosts adult water confidence classes; practice time; DIY LTS (Do It Yourself Learn to Swim) using MSA’s book and DVD and 2-foot pool for adults; freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly classes; lap swimming; pre-masters swimming; classes taught in Spanish; and “Sink or Swim” demonstrations “for people who are convinced that they sink,” the news release points out.

At 2 p.m. on May 29, a class for families will begin with a tour of teaching banners mounted on the pool fence, the release continues. The participants then will be divided into sections of adults and children, so instructors can teach the first steps in the process for people to become confident in the water, the release adds. To promote safety, the release points out, MSA’s program focuses on confidence-building before its instructors teach strokes. The lessons will last from 2 to 2:45 p.m., the release notes.

Free swim periods will take place before, during and after the instruction, the release adds.

“A picnic area and water slide on the grass will be part of the fun,” the release says. The event is being offered as “an exception to adult programming since whole families need to be safe in water and holidays are a special time for family fun,” the release explains.

In the wake of the apparent drowning of a woman snorkeling on Siesta Key last week, “safety messages at the most fundamental level must be spread widely throughout the community and beyond,” the release says. “Miracle Swimming for Adults is the swim school that teaches that confidence in deep water — not formal strokes — and knowledge of how the water works with one’s body, as well as the ability to prevent panic, are fundamental and essential to water safety,” the release points out. “This will be part of the Memorial Day message.”

The cost is $6 for solo attendees, $5 per person for pairs and $15 for families of two adults plus children, the release notes.

Filtered drinking water will be provided.