Big Waves of Thanks to the Lopez Thrift Shop! 

by Claire Anderson | Mar 15, 2025 | News

We are thrilled to announce that the Lopez Swim Center is one step closer to welcoming members to the pools, thanks to a generous grant from the Lopez Thrift Shop!

Their funding helped offset the costs of our new membership management software and training. This is a big milestone for us—it means we now have an integrated system to handle memberships smoothly so that when the Center is ready, so are you.

Why this matters:

• Easy Sign-ups: A streamlined online process.

• Safety & Organization: Better tracking for pool capacity and lifeguard scheduling.

• Community Ready: It lays the digital foundation for our grand opening.

We are incredibly grateful to the Lopez Thrift Shop and everyone who shops or donates there. Your support stays local and truly makes projects like ours possible.

Thank you for helping us dive in!

Lopez Swim Center Featured in Salish Current

by Claire Anderson | Feb 5, 2025 | News

The Lopez Island Public School community made a splash on Jan. 21 in support of the much-anticipated Lopez Swim Center, now under construction on Pool Lane and slated to open later this year.

The swim center is privately owned by the nonprofit Friends of Lopez Pool (FLIP), but it will provide opportunities for public use, including residents from other islands. About 250 students from the Lopez Island School District (LISD) will be given scheduling priority during school hours.

“Our partnership with the Lopez Swim Center is driven by our shared goal that every student will graduate knowing how to swim” said Martha Martin, Lopez school district K–12 principal.

A major impetus for building a pool on the island was that 90% of Lopez school students aren’t able to swim, according to FLIP’s website. San Juan County is one of only two counties in the state without a public or school district pool.

MORE: Read the full article here,

Urgent Action Needed: Email Our Legislators to Support State Funding for the Lopez Swim Center!

by Claire Anderson | Feb 4, 2025 | News

Click on the photo above to see the Lopez SPLASH MOB in action!

Exciting news! A total of $786,000 was put into the Governor’s proposed capital budget to support completion of the Lopez Swim Center, but our District 40 legislators and State budget chairs need to hear from YOU to ensure the funding is approved.  

The proposed funds include a $523,000 local and community projects direct appropriation and a grant of $263,000 from the 2025-2027 Youth Recreational Facilities program.

YOUR voice matters! Please take two minutes today to write a heartfelt e-mail explaining why supporting the Lopez Swim Center is important for our community.

Having writer’s block? No worries—we’ve included several sample messages below to cut, paste, and customize (if you want)!

To make it easy, email to director@lopezislandpool.org and we will forward your message

— OR  —

For more impact, EMAIL DIRECTLY by copying and pasting these email addresses into your email: Liz.Lovelett@leg.wa.gov, Alex.Ramel@leg.wa.gov, Debra.Lekanoff@leg.wa.gov, Steve.Tharinger@leg.wa.gov, Yasmin.Trudeau@leg.wa.gov, director@lopezislandpool.org

Together, we can secure these vital funds for Lopez Swim Center and foster a healthier future for our island community.

SAMPLE MESSAGES:

Subject: Please Support the Lopez Swim Center!

I am writing to express my heartfelt support for the Lopez Swim Center and urge you to support the proposed funding of $786,000 in the Governor’s budget to help complete the Lopez Swim Center, which is currently under construction. With your support, it’s expected to open in late this year!

The Swim Center fulfills a vital public-safety role on our island, where only 8% of Lopez elementary students passed the basic Red Cross Swim test. San Juan County is one of only two counties in Washington without a public or school pool.

The Swim Center will also provide a year-round place for our community’s many seniors, with warm water helping mobility, fitness, and recovery from injuries. It will be an essential community hub.

I urge you to consider the significant impacts the Swim Center will have on our community and to strongly support its funding.

Sincerely,

This is such an exciting time for children who live on Lopez Island—and all its residents! After years of work and successful fundraising, the Lopez Swim Center has reached the construction stage. We know that the many carefully planned programs in the Center’s two pools, including school PE, swim lessons, aquatic fitness and physical therapy, plus water safety and lifeguard training, will soon be a reality.

This is a time for dreams to come true, but it is also a time of urgency to complete fundraising in step with the Center’s final construction. We urge you to support the Governor’s recommendation in the capital budget so we can complete this important project that will  transform the community. Thank you for your past significant work and support for the Lopez Swim Center!

Sincerely,

I am delighted to report that the Lopez Swim Center, a community project, is now fully under construction!  Everyone on Lopez is grateful for the past support and interest shown by you and your fellow legislators. The cheers thrown up last week and pool noodles waved by more than 125 Lopez School District students who crowded into the largest pool were meant for you, too!

This is a wonderful cause for celebration, but also cause for urgency to complete fundraising in step with the final phase of construction. Everyone on Lopez—young and old, active and infirm, well off and struggling—urges you to support former Governor Inslee’s recommendation in the Capital Budget for an allocation for the Lopez Swim Center. This project is transforming our island community by building a year-round, all-ages, all-abilities community facility for fitness, learning, and healing.

Sincerely,

In the entire state of Washington, San Juan County is one of only two counties without a public or school pool. Not surprisingly, 92% of elementary-aged children on Lopez Island are unable to pass a Red Cross swimming test. By constructing a community Swim Center, Friends of Lopez Island Pool (FLIP) is looking to reverse that trend. The Lopez Swim Center is currently under construction and slated to open late this year. However, we need your support of the Governor’s capital funding request submitted for this year’s budget for us to achieve this goal.

I would greatly appreciate your support of this funding for the Lopez Swim Center.

Sincerely,

First, I want to thank you for your past support to help us build the Lopez Swim Center, a crucial community resource that will have significant impacts on the lives of islanders, both young and old. Currently, it’s estimated that 92% of Lopez elementary-aged students cannot pass a basic Red Cross swim test. The Swim Center will help turn this tide, with the goal of every child learning to swim by graduation! A large segment of our population is over age 60, and the Swim Center will also play a vital role for improving the health and wellness of many island seniors, whether that’s through aquatic aerobics classes, aqua physical therapy, or lap swimming. We’re asking you to approve the funding request in the current proposed budget to help us close the funding gap and complete the Swim Center.

Sincerely,

Construction has started on our Lopez Swim Center, an essential year-round, all-ages, all-abilities community hub fostering water safety, wellness, fun, and fitness. While we hope to have construction completed by the end of this year, that will only be possible with your help. We strongly urge you to approve the capital budget recommendation for the Lopez Swim Center.

Sincerely,

After 15 years of planning and fundraising, construction of the Lopez Swim Center is finally underway. The goal is to complete the pool facility by the end of this year. But while we’re continuing our fundraising, we need your help to help close the gap.

Every county in the state of Washington has a community pool—except for San Juan County and one other. This lack is even more significant given the fact that 92% of Lopez Island elementary students are unable to pass a basic Red Cross swimming test. The Lopez Swim Center’s mission is to turn this tide, with the goal of every Lopez child learning crucial, life-saving swimming and water-safety skills. The year-round Swim Center will benefit islanders of all ages and all abilities, offering a safe haven for fitness, fun, and friends. For the health and wellness of San Juan County islanders, I’m asking you to put your support behind this capital funding recommendation.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

BIG Thanks to the Lopez Thrift Shop!

by Claire Anderson | Dec 28, 2024 | News

Coming soon to the pools near you: lifeguards—and lifeguard chairs!—at the Lopez Swim Center! Thanks to a generous 2024 grant from the Lopez Thrift Shop, two Mendota portable lifeguard chairs were purchased and are in storage, waiting for the Center’s opening day in late 2025. These weather-resistant chairs will offer perches for our swim-safety specialists to keep a lookout—and make sure everyone in the pools are staying safe while having fun!

We greatly appreciate the Lopez Thrift Shop’s continued support!

Meet the Swimmers: Lopezians Diana & Ed Sheridan

by Claire Anderson | Dec 27, 2024 | News

Longtime FLIP donors Diana and Ed Sheridan are ready to JUMP IN when the Lopez Swim Center opens its doors in late 2025. Here’s what Ed recently wrote to FLIP:

“Let me get my swimming trunks!! I’m 86 and I love to swim on Cape Cod or soon, on Lopez Island.

I am enthusiastic about our new pool, and I’m proud that my wife and I were able to contribute to the costs for planning and designing it.

Our new pool will be a gift for all of the San Juan Islands. It will appeal to older folks like me, and also to the folks who are introducing their children to the warm waters of our first-class pool.

When you hear the whistle, then it’s time to jump into the water!”

Don’t Miss Your Chance to Double Your Donation!

by Claire Anderson | Dec 3, 2024 | News

The Lopez Swim Center is under construction on Pool Lane. The pools’ excavation is finished, with construction of the mechanical building coming next. Watch as progress continues on Pool Lane! And don’t miss your chance to double your impact NOW: Your year-end donations help fund completion of the Swim Center. More than 1,300 donors have joined already, and we‘ll be even stronger with your support. TAKE THE PLUNGE! DONATE TODAY to reach our $250,000 year-end goal!

To kick off this year-end fundraiser, Lopezians Leslie Quenell and Brian Silverstein will match all gifts received, up to $5,000! This local dynamic duo has been supporting the idea of having a local swim center for years. “Our daughter started taking swimming lessons in public pools at age 4, when we lived in Portland,” says Brian, “so we understand the importance of helping kids get these skills from an early age. Here on Lopez, we are concerned about how few local island kids have basic swimming skills.” “What we want for all Islanders is year-round, easy access to pools for fitness, water safety, and fun,” says Leslie. “There is no better time to join FLIP. We want to get the pools done so we can swim. Please join us!”

Aqua Therapy at the Swim Center Provides New Hope for Healing In partnership with Lopez Island Physical Therapy (LIPT), the Lopez Swim Center will offer a new path on the island to recover from injury or deal with chronic pain: aqua therapy. The Center’s 24-by-38 warm-water wellness pool will be the site for this highly effective type of physical therapy. Lopezian Scott Allred, board-certified specialist in orthopedic physical therapy and owner of LIPT, is excited to offer this unique service to the island community. He believes it will make a big difference for islanders who could benefit from an alternative to treatment in a traditional clinic setting. “Aqua therapy facilitates many of the modalities we do in physical therapy—stretching, strengthening, relieving pain—but in a gentler way,” says Allred. “It gives you a ton of pain-relieving options to perform exercises.” What makes aqua therapy so great? Less pain, more gain: Water makes you more buoyant and movement easier, reducing stress on your joints and muscles. Build strength, gently: The water’s resistance helps you get stronger without straining your body. Relax and heal: The warm water can help soothe your muscles and improve blood flow, improving mobility. Aqua therapy can help people of all ages with a variety of conditions, such as: Sports injuries Arthritis Back pain Neurological conditions (like multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s) “Aqua therapy allows people to perform exercises in a way that is less painful and has less impact on the body,” says Allred. “Most physical therapy clinics don’t provide aqua therapy because it requires access to a pool and specialized training; it’s not common,” he says. “I’m excited to offer it here on Lopez.” If you think you might benefit from aqua therapy, Allred recommends seeking a physical therapy referral from your primary care provider. “We’re looking forward to using this as another way to treat islanders and help them resume the activities they want to do again. Aqua therapy provides a great alternative for people.”

Scott Allred, DPT and owner of Lopez Island Physical Therapy, with his wife Adriane, their children Hugo and Andie, and goldendoodle Wally.