Azionaqua’s
Make a Splash Anniversary Event Is a Go! Writer // Janelle Morrison • Photography // Courtesy of Azionaqua
It came as a huge disappointment but no surprise when it was announced that the highly anticipated 60th anniversary celebration for one of Zionsville’s most beloved amenities, Azionaqua Swim Club, was officially postponed to Aug. 21, 2021, as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
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nd so, it is our pleasure to announce that the Make a Splash fundraiser celebrating Azionaqua’s 60th + 1 anniversary is a “go” for next month! This event will celebrate the incredible local history of Azionaqua, multiple generations of members and six decades of staff. The goal of the Make a Splash Event is to provide the necessary funding to allow the facility to remain relevant for our future generations to come.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF AZIONAQUA SWIM CLUB The Azionaqua Swim Club
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A DEDICATED VOLUNTEER BOARD
was established by a group of Masonic Lodge brothers, Virgil Knapp, Henry Beard and Herman Gettle, and has been a longstanding summer tradition in Zionsville for more than half a century. The pool was built in the summer of 1960, and its first day of operation was Aug. 6, 1960. More than six decades later, Azionaqua continues to be a membership-based club focused on aquatics education, safety, physical fitness and family fun. The 50-meter by 25-meter pool offers lap swimming, a diving well with two springboards and aquatic sports and fitness programs for all ages.
Azionaqua’s past and present boards have and continue to be comprised of dedicated volunteers who remained committed to maintaining the club’s facilities as well as growing its membership. The board’s primary focus is on making every swimmer’s experience a fun, safe and memorable one while spending time as a master or student swimmer/diver training at the pool or as a recreational member enjoying the dog days of summer at Azionaqua. The club’s astute board continues the tradition of seeking input from its members and adjusting its sails based
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on what the members want and need. This was recently exhibited throughout 2020, when the club’s board members and its extraordinary aquatics director Ginger DeCoursey and staff pivoted (in conjunction with the governor’s COVID-19 orders) and provided a safe and fun escape from the constraints of the pandemic. Two of Azionaqua’s current board members, Andrea Nicholson and Molly Burton, shared their thoughts on the club’s current board of directors and on the importance of hosting this year’s fundraiser that is honoring the 60th + 1 anniversary but has the potential to evolve into an annual affair and revenue generator. “We have a great board that is very well respected, and we’re working very well together,” Nicholson stated. “We decided to title the fundraiser ‘Make a Splash’ and give it an [official] name because if it is successful and people like it, we want to be able to do it again, and not just every 60 years.” Burton added, “Memberships alone don’t fund everything that needs to happen at the pool. It’s a great pool and functions really well, but just like anything—especially something that’s 60-plus years old—there are things that come up that have to be repaired from time to time.”
FUNDRAISING FOR THE PRESENT AND FOR THE FUTURE Azionaqua is fully funded from its membership base and operates as a nonprofit facility. Every dollar of the club’s membership fee goes directly to pool maintenance and staffing. What many may not know about the club is that it offers several programs to its members AND nonmem-
JULY 2021
2021-07-20 4:26 PM
