08-I TRPA Grant-Sports Comp. - Laserfiche WebLink

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January 7, 1995 3025 Oak Creek Drive Paris, TX 75462 Mr. Dick Boots Paris Parlcs Department Paris, TX 75460 I wish to express my support for the building of a public swimming pool in Paris, Texas. Swimming should be encouraged for a wide variety of reasons. It is an excellent aerobic exerclse for people of all sizes, shapes, and fitness levels. It is a lifetime sport enjoyed by people of all ages. It lends itself well to both individual and team competitions in not only speed swimming but synchronized swimming as well. The presence of a public swimming pool would also help the YWCA, Red Cross, and many other groups to decrease the number of non-swimmers in our community. This would then help decrease the number of drownings each year in area lakes. And, of course, swimming is fun! Wider access to swimming should be encouraged. None of the schoot districts in Lamar County currently has a swim team. The schools do not have the money to both construct a swimming pool and fund the program. With an appropriatety designed swimming pool in the community, it might soon become feasible for one or more of the school districts to enclose the facility to permit year-round swim training necessary for a successful program. The communiry has already shown a strong interest in swimming. Aerofit, a local health club, has built an indoor four-lane swimming pool for aerobic workouts as well as fitness and recreational swimming. The pool is adequate for Aerofit's needs Uut is not widely accessible to most people in Paris due to its expense. A private group of swimmers and their parents have also organized a swim team that practices at Aerofit's pool. Again, the pool is adequate but often too expensive for most people to utilize. 1 personally I<now of several people who have been forced to quit the swim team due to its expense. The presence of a public pool would dramatically open access to swimming instruction to many other communiry members. As a physician, communiry leader, certified Red Cross swim coach, and father of four swimmers, t feel uniquely qualified to state unequivocally that a public swimming pool would be a wonderful asset to this communiry and would improve the qualiry of life for folks of all ages in the Paris area. Si ncerely, / Steven J. Clifford, M.D.