Industry Hills Aquatic Club
Encyclopedia
USA Swimming
USA Swimming is the national governing body for competitive swimming in the United States. It is charged with selecting the United States Olympic Swimming team and any other teams which officially represent the United States, as well as the overall organization and operation of the sport within the...
club located in the City of Industry, California
Industry, California
Industry is an industrial suburb of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County. Home to over 2,500 businesses and 80,000 jobs, but only 219 residents at the 2010 census - down from 777 residents as of the 2000 United States census - the city is almost entirely industrial...
, from 1979 until August 2005. For almost three decades, the Club was a successful training ground for a considerable number of athletes, some achieving success at the highest levels of the sport, both nationally and internationally, such as the olympic games. In addition to swimming, the organization included water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
and diving
Diving
Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
teams composed of athletes achieving similar success. The Aquatic Center's pools also served the community as a popular venue for high school swim meets, youth swim lessons, and United States Masters Swimming
United States Masters Swimming
Masters swimming is an organized program of swimming for adults. U.S. Masters Swimming, founded in 1970, is a non-profit membership national governing body. The program began when the first National Masters Swimming Championships were held on May 2, 1970 at the Amarillo Aquatic Club pool. Captain...
.
The organization ceased to exist in 2005 when the City of Industry decided to demolish the Industry Hills Aquatics Center. The pool was demolished four years later, in March 2009.
Industry Hills Aquatic Center
The Industry Hills Aquatic Center complex included two pools, an eight-lane 25-yard shallow warm-up pool and a 50-meter olympic pool with seating for 3,000 spectators inclined on cement bleachers built upon an earthen embankment on the north side of the pool. A 10-meter diving tower stood on the southern side of the olympic pool, most famously used in the Rodney DangerfieldRodney Dangerfield
Rodney Dangerfield , was an American comedian, and actor, known for the catchphrases "I don't get no respect!," "No respect, no respect at all... that's the story of my life" or "I get no respect, I tell ya" and his monologues on that theme...
film, Back to School. The swim complex shared locker facilities with a 17-court tennis facility that bordered the northern side of the swimming pools.
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide's largest and second oldest brand . Starwood's headquarters are in White Plains, New York.-Sheraton history:...
property. The development comprises over 650 acres (2.6 km²), which include two golf courses; a driving range
Driving range
A driving range is an area where golfers can practice their swing. It can also be a recreational activity itself for amateur golfers or when enough time for a full game is not available. Many golf courses have a driving range attached and they are also found as stand-alone facilities, especially...
; a 292-room resort hotel tower; two restaurants; notable convention facilities; an 11000 square feet (1,021.9 m²) spa; an equestrian center (the Industry Hills Expo Center
Industry Hills Expo Center
The Industry Hills Expo Center is a multi-purpose arena in Industry, California. Built in 1981, it seats over 5,000 spectators. It is home to the Los Angeles Lynx of the National Indoor Football League.-External links:*...
); and one of the few funicular
Funicular
A funicular, also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope; the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance each other.-Operation:The basic principle of funicular...
incline railways in the world, constructed to transport golf carts between holes on the complex greens. Prior to its current form, the site was a large refuse disposal site that accumulated some 3.5 million tons of waste from 1951 until 1969, characterized by "subterranean fires, pollution, exposed debris, unsightly cut slopes, and barren earth." Extensive grading, contouring and landscaping transformed the site into a lush green-space development that serves as an attractive setting for the facilities located at the site. This successful adaptive reuse has been noted and followed by many other similar projects due to its innovative design, construction, landscaping and use of reclaimed water and methane gas. In 1981, the development was chosen by Civil Engineering Magazine as the Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement of 1981.
Olympic Athletes Affiliated With Industry Hills
- Jill SterkelJill SterkelGillian "Jill" Sterkel is a former competitive freestyle swimmer for the United States of America. At the Olympic Games she won four medals in three Games spanning 12 years. She attended Glen A...
: American Olympic swimmer - Jenna JohnsonJenna JohnsonJenna Johnson is a former competitive swimmer from the United States who won three Olympic medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California: a gold medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay, a gold medal in the 4x100 medley relay, and a silver medal in the 100m butterfly...
: American Olympic swimmer - Jens-Peter Berndt: West German Olympic swimmer
- Brian Roney: American Olympic swimmer (qualified for boycotted 1980 Games)
- Natalie CoughlinNatalie CoughlinNatalie Anne Coughlin is an American swimmer and eleven-time Olympic medallist.At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Coughlin became the first American female athlete in modern Olympic history to win six medals in one Olympics and the first woman ever to win a 100 m backstroke gold in two consecutive...
: American Olympic swimmer - Michelle FordMichelle FordMichelle Jan Ford MBE was an Australian long distance freestyle and butterfly swimmer of the 1970s and 1980s, who won a gold medal in the 800 m freestyle at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. She was the only non Soviet bloc female swimmer to win an individual gold medal at the boycott-marred games...
: Australian Olympic swimmer - George Giziotis: Greek Olympic swimmer
- Jeff KostoffJeff KostoffJeffrey James Kostoff is a former medley swimmer from the United States, who competed in two consecutive Summer Olympics for his native country, starting in 1984...
: American Olympic swimmer - Terry Schroeder: American Olympic water polo player, silver medalist and team captain of the United States olympic water polo team in both 1984 and 1988, but perhaps most recognizable as the model for the bronze torso sculpture at the gateway to the 1984 Olympic StadiumOlympic StadiumThe Olympic Stadium is the name usually given to the big centrepiece stadium of the Summer Olympic Games. Traditionally, the opening and closing ceremonies and the track and field competitions are held in the Olympic Stadium. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words Olympic...
, the Los Angeles Coliseum.
Aquatics Directors / Head Coaches
- Donald Lamont
- Ed Spencer
- John Reese
- Michael Gautreau
- Richard Shipherd
Demise
La Mirada, California
La Mirada is a city in southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, and is one of the Gateway Cities. The population was 48,527 at the 2010 census, up from 46,783 at the 2000 census....
.
For a number of years leading up to the ultimate demolition of the facility, proponents delayed closure despite mounting financial costs upwards of $100,000 per year for utilities alone. The primary reason for this expense was energy required for heating. The complex's two pools required rather large boilers to heat their water, which were most recently replaced at a cost of $142,000. At its initial inception, the pool depended upon methane gas to fuel its boilers. This was a readily available source of energy cheaply piped from the decomposing garbage deposited at the site during its prior use as a refuse dump. However, as at other refuse dump sites, the methane gas slowly diminished and became a nonviable source of energy to heat the facility. Thus, other much more expensive petroleum was necessary to fuel the pool heaters' boilers. Directly prior to closure, the Pacific Palms carried $220,000 in debt for just one year of operation. Concurrent with the complete demolition and removal of the swimming pools, the Pacific Palms also chose to completely remove the 17 tennis courts and adjoining tennis club, pro shop and cafe.
The City of Industry and Pacific Palms plan to redevelop the former aquatic center for another use that has not yet been publicly disclosed. The site of the former aquatic center is located at the base of the Pacific Palms Resort, at the southwest corner of Industry Hills Parkway and Azusa Boulevard in the City of Industry, California
Industry, California
Industry is an industrial suburb of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County. Home to over 2,500 businesses and 80,000 jobs, but only 219 residents at the 2010 census - down from 777 residents as of the 2000 United States census - the city is almost entirely industrial...
91744.