The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians has partnered with Santa Ynez Valley Youth Recreation to donate $200,000 to a local nonprofit that plans to significantly upgrade the local high school’s aquatics facility and provide an elite swimming pool for the community to enjoy.
This $200,000 donation to the Santa Ynez Valley Community Aquatics Foundation will help fund the down payment on the warm-up pool that will be used during this summer’s U.S. Olympic swimming trials in Omaha, Neb.
Myrtha Pools, which provides aquatics facilities for the Olympic Games and world championships, constructs facilities for elite competitions then sells them afterward at a reduced cost. The warm-up pool used by this year’s Olympic-hopefuls will be coming to Santa Ynez.
“When we first learned about the project, our board agreed that the Santa Ynez Valley could benefit from having a community pool,” said Vincent Armenta, tribal chairman of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. “Once again, we have partnered with Santa Ynez Youth Recreation to make this donation. We’re proud to support this project because we think it’s something the community will enjoy.”
One of the driving forces behind the Santa Ynez Valley Community Aquatics Foundation is Gary Hall, Jr., a five-time Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer, member of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame and Santa Ynez Valley resident.
“This is an affluent, beautiful community that can be a health and wellness destination, and that’s really our focus,” Hall said. “We’re not just trying to create the next Olympians. We want to engage the community and give them a place they can exercise in a safe environment. It will benefit the high school, but we want to make it inclusive to the aging population and promote health and wellness programs in the community.
“We’re immensely appreciative of the Chumash not only for their ability to contribute financially but also being engaged community members that are willing to help in any way they can.”
The tribe last partnered with Santa Ynez Valley Youth Recreation on the renovation of Los Olivos Elementary School’s tennis courts. The pool project has special significance to Santa Ynez Valley Youth Recreation President Frank Kelsey, whose father helped install the high school’s current shallow-deep pool in 1965.
“They built this pool for $65,000, which was about the price of three houses in the Santa Ynez Valley back then,” Kelsey said. “Now, to replace this pool, it’s going to cost about the same as three nice properties in our market.”
“Partnering with the Chumash on this donation is a win-win situation,” Kelsey said. “When they said they’d give $100,000, we jumped at the chance to match it. Their contribution is terrific. They have no problem spending money on the kids, and we’re all about it.”
For more information on the project, visit www.syvaquatics.org.
The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians has donated more than $20 million to hundreds of groups, organizations and schools in the community and across the nation as part of the tribe’s long-standing tradition of giving.
To find out more about the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Foundation and its giving programs, visit www.santaynezchumash.org.
— Mike Traphagen is the public relations specialist for Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.