World Waterpark Magazine july/august 201758

ach year, toward the end of April, 60 new Folsom Aquatic Center employees attend the annual new employee orientation, ready to join the proud history of over 1,700 young men and women who have previously been employed at the Folsom Aquatic Center.

While they have all successfully completed their required Ellis & Associates lifeguard training, gone through the group interview process, and navigated the

complex intricacies of their lengthy employment paperwork, nothing has prepared them for what is about to come next…a multi-media presentation full of video, sound, inspirational quotes, photos of previous employees, programs, participants, and most importantly the “Star Wars” scroll that reads as follows at the beginning of the presentation:

SOMETIME AGO IN THE NOT SO DISTANT PASTFOLSOM CITY LEADERS WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE COMMUNITYDECIDED TO EMBARK ON AN EPIC AQUATIC JOURNEYA JOURNEY THAT WOULD PROVIDE WATER FUN FOR ALL WHO CAMEA PLETHORA OF ACTIVITY CHOICESPROFESSIONAL AQUATIC STAFFENSURING SAFETY AND FUN FOR ALL!

Now in its 17th year, the Folsom Aquatic Center offers a diverse program mix that continues to drive solid revenue and generates strong community support.

WE MAKE

FUN!By Chad Gunter

World Waterpark Magazine july/august 2017 59

CONtINuED ON PagE 62

May the fun be with usThe Folsom Aquatic Center was completed

in the spring of 2001 and has been providing year-round aquatic programming and fun for over 16 years. The facility takes great pride in becoming a regional destination for swim teams, recreation swim, swim lessons, birthday par-ties, special events, as well as being the first facility in northern California to use the AFLEX inflatables to enhance the recreation swim experience during the summer months. In 2004, the Folsom Aquatic Center was also a tour stop for “Disney’s Swim with the Stars” featuring Olympic Gold medalist Michael Phelps, Lenny Krazelberg and Ian Crocker!

As we enter into our 17th season of providing aquatic program-ming, we are dealing with the inevitable deterioration of the facil-ity, and with increased maintenance and repair needs. With the continued goal of providing industry leading aquatic program-ming, training and facilities, the City is currently working with Aquatic Design Group in development of a new Master Plan for facility expansion to provide additional attractions, facilities and amenities to increase the “WOW” factor!

While we are looking toward future improvements, it is im-portant to recognize past programming accomplishments and services provided to our community. The success of the Folsom Aquatic Center has been predicated on 5 core programs or ser-vices: year-round and seasonal swim teams, summer recreation swim, swimming lessons, birthday parties & a poolside Café and specialty rental groups.

Serving swim teamsThe Folsom Aquatic Center is open year-round and is able to

provide this service to the community through the continued part-

nership with 7 local swim teams. Cur-rently, the aquatics division is home to the Sierra Marlins, Folsom Sea Otters, Folsom Wahoos, Folsom Tigersharks, Rancho Cordova High School, Vista Del Lago High School and Folsom High

School swim teams. The Sierra Marlins and Folsom Sea Otters were integral in

helping to generate the community support needed to build a 50 meter, year-round pool.

Due to the success of these two programs, addi-tional programs have been developed due to the in-

creased demand for seasonal and year-round swimming. The three high school teams use the Folsom Aquatic Center and

one of their own high school pools through the City of Folsom and Folsom Cordova Unified School District joint-use agreement. Cur-rently, the swim team revenue including swim meets, pool rentals, etc., which accounts for under 30 percent of total annual revenue.

Providing summer recreation swimming & swim lessons

The grand opening of the Folsom Aquatic Center officially took place in May of 2001. For the first several years attendance, par-ticipation and revenue grew steadily. The amenities of the facil-ity which included a 165’ waterslide, zero entry activity pool with play structure, diving boards, teaching pool and large amounts of open space kept the public entertained.

However, when the economy started to slow down, so did at-tendance and revenue. After evaluating some new attractions, the city purchased 2 giant continuous airflow inflatables from AFLEX technologies. With the addition of these inflatables in 2009, and the reduction of pricing for family season passes for a family of 4 from $199 to $149, the facility benefited with an increase of rev-enue and participation. The model used to generate additional rev-enue through the purchase of the AFLEX inflatable was to charge an extra $3.00 per participant to receive a wristband indicated they could use the inflatables. Since 2009, the Folsom Aquatic Center has sold over 110,000 wristbands generating over $300,000 in ad-ditional summer season revenue. Currently, the Folsom Aquatic Center Summer swim season generates $400,000 per year account-

the Folsom aquatic Center provides waterpark entertainment alongside swimming lesson programs and special events like the World’s largest swimming lesson.

The Folsom Aquatic

Center was completed in the spring of 2001

and has been providing year-round aquatic programming and

fun for over 16 years.

World Waterpark Magazine july/august 201760

ing for 35 percent of total annual revenue.Like many public facilities, the Folsom Aquatic Center pro-

vides swim lessons which start in the spring and contin-ue through October. Lessons offered range from group lessons, semi-private lessons, private

lessons, adult lessons and Autism Spectrum swim lessons. Since opening in 2001, the Folsom Aquatic Center has provided over 30,000 individual swim lessons to the community. Being that the

City of Folsom is surrounded by 2 lakes, we hope that our les-sons help to keep people safe in all bodies of water.

One of our newer swim lesson opportunities is our Au-tism Spectrum swim lessons which is sponsored by a grant from Autism Speaks. This lesson program provides free swim lessons to participants on the Autism spectrum. Swim instructors are provided training with an Occupa-

tional Therapist on some basic principles of working with children with special needs. Since 2014, the Folsom Aquatic

Center swim instructors have provided 180 swim lessons to children on the Autism spectrum.

Currently, the Folsom Aquatic Center swim lesson program ac-counts for 15 percent of total annual revenue.

Celebrating birthday parties & serving guests at the Poolside Café

One of the most popular ways to celebrate your birthday party during the summer months is at the Folsom Aquatic Center! With several options to choose from, families book their parties during the winter to ensure summer fun at the Folsom Aquatic Center. Party packages range from $279 to $449 and include a party host, pizza, ice cream cake, party pavilion and 2 hours of party fun!

The Poolside Café staff manages all of the parties while serving between 600-1000 people daily from the concession operation.

New this year, the Folsom Aquatic Center has added 3 cabanas which are available to rent through an hourly or daily rate!

Last year the Folsom Aquatic Center helped to celebrate 217 parties, this, combined with the Poolside Café sales accounted for 15 percent of facility revenue!

Hosting special rental groupsWhile the staple programs already listed above provide the

majority of facility revenue, the aquatic center continues to of-fers a wide variety of programming. Currently, the center offers programs for private rental groups, movie nights, spring-board diving, scuba diving, adult fitness and summer camp programs. Maintaining a wide range of programming helps to cultivate a large group of diverse users who help to maintain the need of a year-round facility. While these specialty programs have limited space, they generate almost 5 percent of total annual revenue.

Looking to the future, the Folsom Aquatic Center is excited to ex-plore expansion opportunities that will provide increased swimming and recreation opportunities for the community. It is hard to believe that the Folsom Aquatic Center has been open for 17 fantastic years!

If you are ever the Sacramento region and looking for a fun day with your family and friends, take a trip to the Folsom Aquatic Center as We Make Summer Fun! •

ChaD guNtEr has bEEN WOrkINg IN thE FIElD OF aquatICs FOr OvEr 22 yEars. guNtEr sErvEs as thE CalIFOrNIa Parks & rECrEatION sOCIEty aquatIC sECtION PrEsIDENt ElECt; hE Is a WWa PublIC sECtOr

COmmIttEE mEmbEr, aND Is a rECrEatION suPErvIsOr FOr thE CIty OF FOlsOm. CurrENtly, hE hOlDs CErtIFICatIONs as aN amErICaN rED CrOss I.t., jEFF EllIs & assOCIatEs lIFEguarD INstruCtOr aND hOlDs hIs NrPa CErtIFIED Parks aND rECrEatION PrOFEssIONal CErtIFICatE. OvEr thE yEars, guNtEr has suPErvIsED OvEr 2,000 Part-tImE staFF aND has DEvElOPED a PassION FOr PrEsENtINg aND ENjOys sharINg hIs kNOWlEDgE aND ExPErIENCEs FrOm thE POOl DECk tO FEllOW aquatIC PrOFEssIONals.

folsoM aquatic center CONtINuED FrOm PagE 60

1200 RILEY STREET, FOLSOM, CA. 95630WWW.FOLSOM.CA.USFACEBOOK: Folsom AquAtic centerCHAD GUNTER, cPrP, cPrs, President elect,recreAtion suPervisorOWNERS: city oF FolsomADMISSION PRICES: $7.00 dAily Admission / $3.00 wristbAnd For inFlAtAbles / $149 FAmily summer seAson PAssDATES OPEN: mArch 2001SIzE/ACRES: 6 AcresCAPACITY: 993 (Pools); 6,000+ (FAcility)NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: yeAr-round: 3.5 Full time; 20 PArt-time/seAsonAl: 120 PArt-timeCLIENTELE (PERCENT LOCAL VS. TOURIST): 70 Percent locAl vs. 30 Percent touristFUTURE ExPANSION PLANS: yesPLANNED MANUFACTURER: currently working with AquAtic design grouP in mAster PlAn develoPmentUNIQUE PARK PROGRAMS: AFleX inFlAtAbles (stArted in 2009); Autism sPectrum swim lessons; AnnuAl bArk ‘n’ sPlAsh STAFF RETENTION PROGRAMS OR IN-SERVICEPROGRAMS: JeFF ellis & AssociAtes

DEVELOPMENT/DESIGN: AquAtic design grouPCONSTRUCTION: western wAter FeAtures – sierrA nAtionAlWATERSLIDE: white wAter westCHILDREN’S INTERACTIVE PLAY STRUCTURE: white wAter westINFLATABLES: AFleX technologiesFURNITURE: AlumAtechLOCKERS: sAntAnA ProductsFILTRATION EQUIPMENT: ePdPUMPS: PAcoCHEMICAL: surewAter technologies; stenner; eko3 mts CHEMICAL CONTROLLERS: siemens strAntrol imPActSHADE SYSTEM: usA shAdeADMISSION SYSTEM: rectrAcMERCHANDISE: vAriousFOOD/EQUIPMENT: true; stAr; hAtco; corneliusUNIFORMS: AmericAn logo weAr; originAl wAtermAn

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