Hicksville's Aquatic Center and Alumni Swim Meet
by, Wendy Elkis Girnis (HHS Class of 1977)
One of the first questions I remember being asked as a Hicksville High School 10th grader in 1974 was, “Have you seen the pool on the roof yet?” Most of us, who didn’t have older siblings, thought that was cool that the school had a pool, only to find out it was just a joke played on incoming students. There never was a pool on the roof. Today the question that is asked of incoming students is, “Have you been to the Aquatic Center yet?” The latter is located at the back of the school where the tennis and handball courts were. The Aquatic Center exists.
Construction on the Hicksville Public Schools Aquatic Center started in December of 2019. By October 2021, the public was given tours as part of the Homecoming Fair. The Aquatic Center boasts a 6-lane heated lap pool with starter blocks and with a diving board. USA Swimming requirements are followed.
The building itself is 17,952 square feet. The building is connected to the main building through a series of corridors and vestibules. There are male and female locker rooms with showers, offices for the coaches, bleachers for a cheering crowd, and a concession stand. The center opened on March 9, 2022.
The girls’ Varsity Swim Team and the Hicksville Middle School Girls Swim Team practices and competes there during the fall sports season, while the boys’ Swim Teams practice and compete during the winter season. Since acquiring their own pool, the ranking of the Hicksville Teams has skyrocketed per SwimCloud https://www.swimcloud.com/team/5137/. It has also allowed for an increase in participation.
The Aquatic Center is open to the residents of Hicksville on a limited basis. There are specific times for Senior Swim, Public Lap Swim, and Interscholastic Swimming and Diving for students from 4th -12th grades who want to improve their swimming and diving skills. There are strict rules that need to be followed. One rule is that those attending are expected to swim laps and not use the pool for recreation.
On June 1, 2024, the Aquatic Center had its Alumni Swim Meet. Deborah (Elkis) Abuhoff (‘80) has been a swimmer since she was 4 1/2 years old. She started competing at 6 and swam for Levittown Swimming Association (LSA), AAU, and for Hicksville starting in 9th grade. Today, she swims for U.S. Masters for team EXCEL out of Nassau County Aquatic Center. Deborah swam in the Alumni Meet at the Aquatic Center on June 1. It was a fun meet, and she enjoyed catching up with some old friends and Mr. Walt Olsewski, who coached the team.
As for the Aquatics Center, Deborah gave it a “Thumbs Up”. She is happy that there are men’s and women’s Varsity teams. This opens up more opportunities for those students to be approached by colleges for scholarships.
