By Lauren Schiavone
Hometown Weekly Staff
Last Friday at 1 p.m. marked the official grand opening for pools at Rosemary Recreation Complex. Community members geared up for the heat with sunglasses and snacks in tote, ready for the summer and everything the facility has to offer.
Large pools, a shallow end, a ten-foot pool with a diving board and swim lanes cover the well-manicured property. The entrance has sprinklers, and Hometown Weekly found lines already forming on the stairs to the two nearby waterslides. There’s a sensor by the beach entry that turns on features, mushroom waterfalls and sprayers.
Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation Fabien Desrouleaux keeps the aquatic operations moving. “Especially with the nationwide lifeguard shortage, it’s been a challenge leading up to this season,” says Desrouleaux, “but we’re lucky to be able to have a full staff, be open seven days a week, and have a nice, long eight-week season to offer to the community. We were able to raise our capacity this year, too. We have the option of pre-registration or folks walking in.”
Pools are open to Needham residents, as well as non-residents, with varying rates for programs. There are also discounts for seniors.
The pool schedule is booked for events in the summer, but there is also free swim available. “In the morning we have lap swim and swim lessons,” Desrouleaux acknowledges, “[but] in the afternoon, we allow children in the lap pool later on. We [also] have a diving board and a swim team that uses our space, the Needham Sharks.”
The space is also being used for a summer recess program, similar to a summer camp, at Elliott School, Newman School and Needham High.
Further information about Rosemary Recreation Complex can be found at Needham’s Park & Recreation website, www.needhamma.gov/5134/Park-Recreation
