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Do you know how to stay safe around the water? What about how to keep your kids safe, or what to do in the event of an aquatic emergency?
May is National Water Safety Month, and the Kingsport Aquatic Center is here to teach you the tips and tricks you need to know to stay safe not just at its pools, but around any body of water you and your family visit.
“It’s so important to be familiar with basic water-safety skills, especially during summer months when people are more often in the water,” said Kari Matheney, director of the Kingsport Aquatic Center. “Learning to swim and the exposure to the water safety skills and messages that swimming lessons offer provide a lifelong foundation for drowning prevention.”
Join the KAC for International Water Safety Day on May 15, where staff will be on hand with free information and demonstrations on this vitally important topic. Visit from 4 to 7:20 p.m. for mini swim lessons, a movie on water safety and more!
International Water Safety Day schedule
- 4-4:45 p.m. –
Longfellow’s W.H.A.L.E. Tales – Legion Room
- Movie on water safety
- 5-5:20 p.m. –
Backboarding Demo – Outdoor Leisure Pool
- Lifeguard demo on spinal/head injuries
- 5:30-5:50 p.m. –
Mini Swim Lesson – Outdoor Leisure Pool
- Free lesson & placement tests
- 6-6:45 p.m. –
Longfellow’s W.H.A.L.E Tales – Legion Room
- Movie on water safety
- 7-7:20 p.m. –
Mini Swim Lesson – Indoor Warm Pool
- Free lesson & placement tests
All year round, the Kingsport Aquatic Center is dedicated to water safety. This month, visit the KAC’s social media pages to learn some important tips about how to stay safe. Saving lives is easy if you practice water safety. This Friday, May 10 at 2 p.m. at the KAC, Vice Mayor Mike McIntire will officially declare May as Water Safety Month in Kingsport.
To learn more about the Kingsport Aquatic Center, please call 423-343-9758 or visit swimkingsport.com.
Summer is almost here, and with it comes long afternoons of hot sun. The Kingsport Aquatic Center will be your perfect place to cool off and have some fun when the Outdoor Water Park opens on May 13 at 10:30 a.m.
The Outdoor Water Park is no neighborhood pool. A day pass or water park season pass gives you access to the 900-foot Eastman Credit Union lazy river, two waterslides, a climbing structure with water cannons and the lily pad crossing as well as all the indoor pools. Rent an outdoor cabana for the perfect shady spot for your family to relax between all that aquatic adventure.
“The Kingsport Aquatic Center is the ideal place to relax and have some splashing fun without having to fight traffic,” said Aquatic Director Kari Matheney. “We have something to do for every age in a family-friendly environment.”
The Kingsport Aquatic Center’s summer season also comes packed with programs and events. Swim lessons, lifeguard training, swim clinics and the Junior Viperfish Swim Team are great ways for swimmers of all abilities to learn and grow their water skills. When FunFest rolls around, the KAC will host a pool party, a cardboard boat race and more.
This May is Water Safety Month, and the KAC will celebrate and educate all month long, with a day full of learning on International Water Safety Day on May 15. The KAC will host the MATE International ROV Competition on June 20-22. The summer rounds out with Back-to-School Movie Night on August 3.
Don’t forget that the KAC offers more than just a pool to swim in—there’s water aerobics classes all summer long, too. The ever-popular lazy river classes and poolside yoga will start back in June as part of a full slate of water aerobics.
The Kingsport Aquatic Center would also like to take this moment to remind everyone to be mindful of safety this summer. As always, please wear shoes in the parking lot and do not let children roam the lot unaccompanied. The KAC is taking every step possible to ensure your safety during the construction of a new pool this summer, but we encourage you to practice good safety habits as well.
“With a lot of activities occurring at the facility this summer, we encourage our guests to be aware of their surroundings and be vigilant both inside and outside the waterpark areas,” said Matheney. “We have a new road at our entrance and additional vehicular traffic in the lot, so watching out for small children, wearing appropriate footwear upon entering and leaving the facility, and observing any area closures due to construction will assist us in making your visit as pleasurable as possible during our expansion process.”
Admission at the KAC is based on industry standards. Upon arrival, children will be required to take off their shoes and be measured. If the child is 48” or taller, their admission to the park is $10. If the child is less than 48”, their admission cost is $8. Seniors are $8 and children two and under are free with a paying adult. Remember, visit after 4 p.m. and receive half-price admission!
Water Park Season Passes that grant you access to all the KAC’s pools from May through September are also available, as well as monthly and annual memberships. Visit swimkingsport.com for pricing and information.
Outdoor Water Park hours beginning May
13:
Monday,
Tuesday, Thursday and Friday: 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday
and Saturday: 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday:
noon to 6 p.m.
On Memorial and Labor Days, the entire KAC will be open 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. On July 4, the entire facility will be open 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Beginning August 5, the Outdoor Water Park will be open 4 to 8 p.m. during the week, 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays, and noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays.
To learn more about the Kingsport Aquatic Center or purchase your Water Park Season Pass, please visit swimkingsport.com.
The effort to name our region continues to move forward, and the next step is to ask our citizens. It is important we hear from those who live and work in our region. They have relevant stories to add and insight to offer, which will assist North Star, the consulting firm, in developing a name recommendation that works for the region. While one opinion is simply that – an opinion – a collection of opinions can be powerful.
Please take a moment to complete the survey here. It will take about 15 minutes, and only one completed survey is allowed per IP address. The link will be available until Wednesday, May 22.
For more information on the regional naming initiative, please visit www.nameourregion.com.
Previously released on April 26: An Effort to Unite Our Region
In an effort to encourage students to learn about and develop an interest in agriculture and where their food comes from, the Kingsport Farmers Market in partnership with Kingsport City Schools, is hosting Agriculture Literacy Week May 6th – 11th.
Throughout the week, in celebration of Agriculture Literacy Week, volunteers from the City of Kingsport, Kingsport City Schools, Kingsport Public Library and Keep Kingsport Beautiful will read a book with an agriculture theme to second and third graders at Kingsport City Elementary Schools. After the reading, the book, Right This Very Minute, will be donated to each school’s library for the students to check-out and enjoy.
The Kingsport Public Library is also joining in on the celebration with their story time series. Their Preschool Storytime on May 7th and Time for Two’s Storytime on May 9th, will be centered on the agriculture theme. Both story time sessions will be from 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. For more information about these offerings, please visit http://www.kingsportlibrary.org/.
Other activities will include Kids at the Market day on Wednesday, May 8. Here the students will engage in activities at various booths provided by: Kingsport City Schools, Dobyns-Bennett Agriculture class, Dobyns-Bennett Culinary Arts class, Sullivan County Extension, Keep Kingsport Beautiful and Kingsport Farmers Market.
For more information on the Kingsport Farmers Market, or to sign up for our monthly newsletter, please visit kingsportfarmersmarket.org.
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