McMurtrey Aquatic Center
Encyclopedia
The McMurtrey Aquatic Center is a state-of-the-art swimming, diving, and recreational facility in the City of Bakersfield, California
, USA. It is located near Centennial Garden, newly renamed "Rabobank Arena
", in downtown Bakersfield. The facility itself is combined with the Bakersfield Ice Sports Center
, and has a large recreation pool as well as a heated Olympic-sized competition pool, with lifeguards on duty during business hours. The facility is regarded as one of the best swimming and diving
facilities in Kern County
, hosting activities such as aquatic fitness, diving, lap swim, recreation swim, scuba, water polo, and much more. The McMurtrey Aquatic Center opened in June 2004 to a summer of over 70,000 visits. The facility hosts various local high school swim meets and is used by Bakersfield, California community members for recreational swimming.
The 8551 square feet (794.4 m²) recreation pool, features: zero depth entry, child play features, double water slides, plunge pool, diving boards, water volley ball area, and specially designed interactive wet play equipment. The recreation area includes Picnic Areas for public use and party rentals. A snack bar is conveniently located near the picnic area.. Lockers, showers are also available in two over-sized locker rooms.
The heated Olympic-sized pool at the Aquatic Center has 9 25-yard lanes, 9 50-meter lanes and a pair of one and three meter diving boards. The pool's shallow end is 3 feet, 6 inches deep and the pool's deep end is 14 feet, 2 inches deep.
. The ceremony was hosted by Council member Sue Benham and KGET
-Channel 17’s Robin Mangarin and Jim Scott. Gabe Woodward, a Stockdale High School graduate, won a bronze medal in the Men's’ 4 x 100 meter relay; Rebecca Giddens, a part-time Kernville
resident, won a silver medal in the Women's’ K1 kayak slalom; Larsen Jensen
, Garces Memorial High School
alumnus, won a silver medal in the 1,500 meter freestyle competitive swim; and Joey Hansen, a Bakersfield High School
graduate, won a gold medal in the Men's’ Eight Rowing event.
The aquatics center then got recognition again on April 5, 2006, when Stuart and Misty Rex were presented with the official certificate from the Guinness Book of World Records. March 26 marked the one year anniversary of the couple who held their underwater marriage at the McMurtrey Aquatics Center. Stuart and Misty Rex were informed by the Guinness Book of World Records in November 2005 that their event, with 208 attendees, has set the world record for the largest underwater wedding.
35.369954°N 119.0130472°W
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....
, USA. It is located near Centennial Garden, newly renamed "Rabobank Arena
Rabobank Arena
Rabobank Arena is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena, Bakersfield, California, USA. Located downtown at the corner of Truxtun Avenue and N Street, it was built in 1998, and was originally known as Centennial Garden. The city-owned arena sold naming rights to the Dutch cooperative bank Rabobank in...
", in downtown Bakersfield. The facility itself is combined with the Bakersfield Ice Sports Center
Bakersfield Ice Sports Center
The Bakersfield Ice Sports Center is a year-round, indoor ice rink in Bakersfield, California. The facility was completed in 2003. It contains a regulation size ice hockey rink, and seating for 500. It also contains locker rooms, and a snack bar. It is used for adult and youth hockey, ice skating...
, and has a large recreation pool as well as a heated Olympic-sized competition pool, with lifeguards on duty during business hours. The facility is regarded as one of the best swimming 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...
facilities in Kern County
Kern County, California
Spreading across the southern end of the California Central Valley, Kern County is the fifth-largest county by population in California. Its economy is heavily linked to agriculture and to petroleum extraction, and there is a strong aviation and space presence. Politically, it has generally...
, hosting activities such as aquatic fitness, diving, lap swim, recreation swim, scuba, water polo, and much more. The McMurtrey Aquatic Center opened in June 2004 to a summer of over 70,000 visits. The facility hosts various local high school swim meets and is used by Bakersfield, California community members for recreational swimming.
The 8551 square feet (794.4 m²) recreation pool, features: zero depth entry, child play features, double water slides, plunge pool, diving boards, water volley ball area, and specially designed interactive wet play equipment. The recreation area includes Picnic Areas for public use and party rentals. A snack bar is conveniently located near the picnic area.. Lockers, showers are also available in two over-sized locker rooms.
The heated Olympic-sized pool at the Aquatic Center has 9 25-yard lanes, 9 50-meter lanes and a pair of one and three meter diving boards. The pool's shallow end is 3 feet, 6 inches deep and the pool's deep end is 14 feet, 2 inches deep.
The McMurtreys
The McMurtrey Aquatic Center was named after the McMurtrey family, long-time residents of Bakersfield, who donated the sum of $250,000, March 13, 2003. Don McMurtrey, the family spokesperson, son of prominent residents Mac and Stella McMurtrey, and retired "joint"-CEO (with brother Jon McMurtrey) of Southern Auto Supply, stated that "..they want the complex to be a state-of-the-art facility for the community..." The family also has a special interest in providing funds for the equipment that will be needed for school swim competitions and other related activities.News
On Sunday, October 24, 2004, The McMurtrey Aquatic Center made news when four local Olympians, who had trained at the aquatics center, were honored there, with a celebration for achieving the pinnacle of success in their respective competitions during the 2004 Summer Olympics2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
. The ceremony was hosted by Council member Sue Benham and KGET
KGet
KGet is a free download manager for KDE. By default it is the download manager used for Konqueror, but can also be used with Mozilla Firefox. KGet is part of the KDE Network package, and was featured by Tux Magazine and Free Software Magazine.-History:...
-Channel 17’s Robin Mangarin and Jim Scott. Gabe Woodward, a Stockdale High School graduate, won a bronze medal in the Men's’ 4 x 100 meter relay; Rebecca Giddens, a part-time Kernville
Kernville, California
Kernville is a census-designated place in the southern Sierra Nevadas, in Kern County, California, United States. Kernville is located northeast of Bakersfield, at an elevation of 2667 feet...
resident, won a silver medal in the Women's’ K1 kayak slalom; Larsen Jensen
Larsen Jensen
Larsen Alan Jensen is a former American freestyle swimmer. He is a two-time Olympic medalist.-Career:...
, Garces Memorial High School
Garces Memorial High School
Garces Memorial High School, commonly shortened to Garces High School, is a Catholic high school in Bakersfield, California.Founded in 1947, the school is named after Father Francisco Garcés, a Spanish Franciscan friar and missionary who explored much of the southwestern part of North America,...
alumnus, won a silver medal in the 1,500 meter freestyle competitive swim; and Joey Hansen, a Bakersfield High School
Bakersfield High School
]Bakersfield High School is a high school located in Bakersfield, California, USA.Institutional names and dates of operation:*Kern County High School 1893-1915*Kern County Union High School 1915-1945*Bakersfield High School 1945–present...
graduate, won a gold medal in the Men's’ Eight Rowing event.
The aquatics center then got recognition again on April 5, 2006, when Stuart and Misty Rex were presented with the official certificate from the Guinness Book of World Records. March 26 marked the one year anniversary of the couple who held their underwater marriage at the McMurtrey Aquatics Center. Stuart and Misty Rex were informed by the Guinness Book of World Records in November 2005 that their event, with 208 attendees, has set the world record for the largest underwater wedding.
Events
Many national events have taken place at, or reference McMurtrey Aquatic Center. This list represents a selection of those which feature specific references to the aquatics center.- Four local OlympiansOlympic GamesThe Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
, who had trained at the aquatics center, where honored there on October 24, 2004, for achieving the pinnacle of success in their respective competitions. - Stuart and Misty Rex made it into The Guinness Book of World RecordsGuinness World RecordsGuinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
, with their March 2005 nuptials at the aquatic center, for the largest underwater wedding ever performed.
External links
35.369954°N 119.0130472°W