In her first year with South Suburban Parks and Recreation District, working in the just-created role of aquatics supervisor, Bradie Allen said she wants to focus on consistency.
“How can we ramp up our service and how can we improve quality and uniformity within the district?” Allen asked last week with the district’s outdoor swim season fast approaching.”We have to have uniformity and reliability in place before we add anything.”
Allen, who was hired March 2 after spending more than 20 years managing aquatics programs in Florida, will have her work cut out for her when outdoor swim lesson season begins June 1, adding the four open-air pools to the district’s three indoor facilities: Littleton’s Douglas H. Buck Community Center, Centennial’s Goodson Recreation Center and the Lone Tree Recreation Center.
“I’m excited about the fact that we have seven locations with which to work and grow,” Allen said.
According to conservative estimates from Clay Shuck, South Suburban’s deputy manager of recreation, between 300 and 350 children are expected to enroll in each of the district’s five summer swim lesson sessions among the seven pools this summer, with the first of the two-week sessions opening on June 1.
Registration for the lessons and other summer programs is open now, with walk-in, phone and online registration options available, according to South Suburban’s
Of course, aquatics is just the tip of the iceberg in the district, which .
“This district does a ton,” Shuck said. “We have a variety of activities for kids throughout the summer. Anything from arts and enrichment programs — we have drawing, theater — to day-long sports camps and the Family Sport Center.
“I think as a district we want to be that safe place for kids to come and recreate and have fun over summer vacation,” he said.
South Suburban is making an extra investment this year thanks to a pay increase for lifeguards, Shuck said. The district will start all lifeguards at $9 per hour this year, 77 cents more than Colorado’s mandatory minimum wage of $8.23 per hour, Shuck said.
South Suburban will train about 60 to 80 new lifeguards this summer, according to the recreation manager, and the hope is that the higher pay rate will encourage more to remain in-house rather that move to other districts.
Many summer lifeguards are high school age, and Allen said she is looking at establishing a junior lifeguarding program during the school year to prepare more potential employees for the busy season.
“We have 100 staff in aquatics in the summer time,” she said. “Clearly we need a farm team.”
Familiarity with the water was the idea for Lone Tree resident Jennifer McDonald when she watched her 5-year-old daughter, Kyra, take part in a preschool-level swim class at the Lone Tree rec center last week.
“We’re getting ready for a beach trip, so I wanted to make sure she is comfortable with the water,” McDonald said, adding that her 8-year-old son, Connor, was set for a higher level class later in the day in advance of the family’s trip to Florida this summer.
“They cater to the child,” McDonald said of the swim lessons at South Suburban, in which both her kids have been enrolled multiple times. “The instructors here, if a kid is a little more advanced, they’ll help them with some extra stuff.”
McDonald said her family has enjoyed district programs for years. Her husband has played in the summer softball league for a decade.
When asked what she liked best about swimming, Kyra answered with an enthusiastic “All of it!”
Joe Rubino: 303-954-2953, jrubino@denverpost.com or twitter.com/rubinojc
Summer programming
To learn more about South Suburban Parks and Recreation summer programs for kids and adults, call 303-347-5999 or visit
