Take a Dive Into Our Community: A Story About the Jenks Trojan Aquatic Center!

By Megan Viso

Walking through the doors of the Jenks High School Aquatic Center, the potent smell of chlorine, the faint echoes of rhythmic splashing, and the loud voices of children and elderly alike, merge to create an overwhelming sense of energy and community. For over 10 years, the Jenks Aquatic Center has been a staple of the Jenks community, bringing together students K-12th from schools all across Tulsa county, much of the elderly, and even some groups that you wouldn’t expect, however a lot of what goes on here goes seemingly unrecognized.

“We are here for the high schoolers, but also for Community Ed,” said Lisa Ruffin, Head Aquatics Director at Jenks Public Schools.

When building the Aquatic Center in 2011, obviously the main goal was to create a space for the swim teams to be able to practice, however another big objective was to create a space for the community to be able to enjoy.

Swimmer enjoying open lap swimming at the Jenks Aquatic Center.

“The Jenks community donated and helped out so much in the funding for the Aquatic Center, so we only found it fitting that it be available for all of them to use and enjoy,” said Ruffin.

At the forefront of the Jenks Aquatic Center, is obviously the pools. The Aquatic Center has two different pools, one of which is a, newly renovated, true, Olympic-sized pool, measuring 50 meters long by 25 yards wide.

This pool serves as the main competition and practicing pool, providing a place for our very own Jenks Trojan swim teams and clubs, as well as the Tulsa Masters Swimming Club, to get a sense of what a real, professional competition would be like, as well as the proper training and experience that they need.

Image of the Olympic size, competition and practice pool.

The second pool in the Aquatic Center is just about half the size of the gigantic, Olympic sized pool, ranging about 25 meters long by 15 yards wide. Regardless of size, however, this pool is mainly used as an instructional and practice pool for many of the Community Ed classes held at the Aquatic Center.

Along with the standard, everyday practices for the school swim teams, there is also a wide variety of different swimming/aerobics classes available to register for for the general public. Some of these classes include: Aqua Jogging, Open Lap Swimming, and even Aqua Arthritis. Open Monday through Friday, the Jenks Aquatic Center is paving the way for community involvement, providing a space for even the most amateur swimmer to the most experienced swimmer, to come together and enjoy the thrill of swimming.

Image of the original Aquatic Center pool, used for most of the Community Ed classes.

Beyond its role as a training center for the swim teams however, the Jenks Aquatic Center stands as a prominent example of Jenks’s commitment and dedication to community engagement. One very interesting thing that many people most likely do not know about the Aquatic Center is that a robotics competition has been held there, yes robotics! You may be asking yourself, “how is that possible?” Well, keep reading to find out!

It is called SeaPerch, an international underwater robotics competition where teams must show off their engineering skills by navigating their robots in a series of obstacles underwater.

Earlier this year, the Jenks Aquatic Center had the opportunity to host the annual SeaPerch competition for over 150 students, ranging from 3rd grade to high school seniors. This unique competition was a great opportunity to bring together groups in the Jenks community that may not have ever interacted with one another before.

The Jenks Aquatic Center has encouraged involvement in so many groups here at Jenks and has truly shown us what it means to be together. So, the next time you visit the Jenks Aquatic Center, remember it is so much more than just a building on campus. It is a breeding ground for togetherness, love, and community.

For more information about the Jenks Trojan Aquatic Center, click here!

For more information about the Community Ed Classes available, click here!