Hamilton College - Hamiltonian Yearbook (Clinton, NY)

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of beginning and novice swimmers in fulfilling the Collegels athletic re- quirements. However. in recent years. under pressure of expansion of the student body and increased recreational, in- structional, and intercollegiate pro- grams. the pool ceased to be ade- quate for its purpose. In addition. its size and depth no longer met recom- mended NCAA specifications for in- tercollegiate competition. As in the IQSOs. an appeal went out to the alumni through the I75th Anni- versary Campaign, and once again, the response was impressive. Appro- priately. the new pool bears the name of the man who was so instrumental in replacing another antiquated ath- letic facility with a modern one 49 years ago. The Bristol Pool had a productive first year. Michele Mitchell, silver medalist in the F364 and l938 Olympic Games. exhibited her considerable diving skills during the dedieatory ceremony on December 3. Mitchell l c 55 v claimed the pool was The prettiest indoor pool I've seen of any sizef' The menls and women's swimming teams enjoyed their first home meet in years; both teams crushed Middle- bury College's teams. Finally, the World Record Swim Relay Team brought local attention to the Pool when theyf set a new world record of 2,146 continuous swimmers on April 9. The pool has helped strengthen the ties within the Hamilton community and also solidified relations with the outside communities. With its new peol. Hamilton will once again enjoy swimming facilities that not only meet current intercolle- giate standards but also compare quite favorably with other sehoolsi. Also, the pool will provide more than an adequate response to the needs of a College community quadrupled in size since the old pool was built 49 years ago. And it is fully expected that it will remain adequate to Hamilr ton's needs for many years to come 31

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The opening of the $5.5 million Wil- liarn M.Eristol,Jr.,Swin1ming Pool on December 3 marked another step in a decade of pregress toward athletic excellence at Hamilton College. De- signed by Perry Dean Rogers 5. Part- ners and built by Murnane Associw ates, lne.. the Bristol Peel replaces a pool opened in l940. Intended for use by the entire Hamilton community. it will be available for intercollegiate swimming in season, instructional swimming during the academic year. and recreational swimming year- round. The pool measures 60 by I26 feet and contains eight lanes. Covering 5,000 square feet. it is a stretch pool, with a moveable bulkhead that permits division of either 25 yards or 2'5 meters in length- The diving area includes one and three-meter plat- forms. and the deck space seats 300 spectators. Architectural features in- clude large Finnish tile selected to create a faster peel through dimin- ished surface resistance and a gas- fired infrared radiant tube and re- fleetor system near the diver's plat- form for competitors to keep warm during dives. In IQOO. Hamiltonis first swimming 30 pool was created by scooping the earth out from the basement of the Super Gymnasium lnow Kirkland Der- mitorw. Only, 22 by 38 feet long and from three to seven feet deep. the pool was constructed of porcelain brick and floored with porcelain tile. In addition, there was a glazed brick shower room and a small dressing room. The College Catalogue re- ferred to the facilities as splendid, and added that these most modern facilities cost $4,000, but their value to the College in comfort and plea- sure cannot be appraised.u Curiously, within two years. the splendid peel had been downgrad- ed to 'imost satisfactory in the pages of the Catalogue. After 1902. the pool was described mainly as a fine plunge. where lessons in swim- ming are required of all freshmen. and by World War I, the facilities had become less than adequate. Finally. it was abandoned entirely. In l936, when the nation was in the midst of the Great Depression, a gymnasium fund committee was formed and an appeal went out. to the alumni. Chaired by Wifliam M. BriStc-L Jr. 1?, the committee sought to raise $400,000, a huge sum in such difficult times. However. pledges were speed- Hy.F obtained, and ground was broken for construction in l938. On Novem- ber 9, l940, Mr. Bristol fuzztrrnallt,r pre- sented to the College the Alumni Gymnasium complete with swimming pool. For 47 years, this second pool was Hamilton's Swimming facility. It helped develop the talents of numer- ous NCAA AIIrAmerieans. and also provided for the needs of thousands

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At I:52:I6 am. on Sunday. April 9. the World Record Swim Relay Team entered the Guiness Book of World Records as eoreeerdinatars Jeff Van Buren '90 and Ken Applebaum 90 entered the water together to swim the reeerd-breaking length. In all, 2,l45 swimmers helped Hamilton College break the record of LIBS set in the Syrause YMCA pool on April II, I986. The genesis of any huge and crazy event usually be- gins in small and humble places. In the middle of Febru- ary. in a poorlyalit room in South Dormitory. the World Record Swim Reiewr began. Without even an official name. fourteen students worked for six weeks to put Hamilton College into the Guinness Book of World Re- cords. During that laborious jeurneyheweven the real and more important reasons for the event came out: to raise. money for charities through the Campus Fund Drive. to increase Hamiltonts impact and improve its image in the surrounding communities, and to offer an event in which every Hamilton person could join and have fun. Beginning at 7:00 am. with a local radio celebrity, the Relay featured people from all over New York state and the east coast swimming one 25-yard length of the new Bristol Peel. Slowly but surety e but not always smoothly - the number of swimmers on the scoreboard climbed. as the Hamilton College Swim Team swam multiple laps during lu!ls in attendance.