Oak Park High School created a swim team during the 2021 school year. Two years later, in 2023, OPHS introduced a new water polo team. Although introducing these sports provided opportunities for many to get involved with athletics at the school, it highlighted another issue: OPHS does not have a pool. 

All aquatics teams at OPHS have practiced at California Lutheran University’s pool for the last three years. At face value, the use of CLU’s pool solves the issue, but there have been situations where getting pool time at Cal Lutheran was impossible. This was a significant problem at the beginning of the 2024 water polo season.

Due to seasonal closures, the CLU pool had been closed for two weeks at the beginning of the water polo season. Because of this, the water polo team practiced in one of their own team member’s houses, with no coach. The first water polo game was on Aug. 29, and the water polo team only had two official practices before their first game.

“As far as water polo season goes, we will be playing our first two games without having a full week of formal practices under our belt,” varsity water polo player Mason Lewis said. “Scheduling at CLU has always been an issue and has negatively affected both seasons of water polo that I’ve played at Oak Park.”

Some of the players haven’t played water polo before joining the team this year. They will have had three hours of water polo practice in their whole lives before their first game. 

Head coach of the water polo team, Ricky Mulkahey, also expressed concern over the overcrowding and distractions that exist at Cal Lutherans pool.

“Having practice at Cal Lutheran has been pretty difficult,” Mulkahey said. “We have late-night practice times, with other teams using the pool at the same time. We are dealing with limited space and distractions all around.”

Distractions and spacing issues, closures and scheduling times are not the only extent of the issue. In fact, Cal Lutheran’s pool is a significantly long drive for OPHS students who are out-of-district. For varsity water polo player Ryan Smith, it prevented him from playing water polo last year.

“I live in Malibu,” Smith said. “If I had driven home before practice at Cal Lutheran which is at 6:30 p.m., then I would have to drive an hour there and an hour back. I didn’t play water polo last year because of the drive.”

The absence of a pool at OPHS is not due to a lack of effort from administration. In fact, the administration was also hoping to build a pool here at OPHS. Unfortunately, issues such as cost and space arose.

“While there was initial interest, building and maintaining a pool requires significant resources,” assistant superintendent Adam Rauch said. “Given the costs involved, we haven’t pursued it further. However, we always look for creative ways to support our programs, including through partnerships like joint-use agreements, which benefit our aquatics teams.”

Rauch also commented on the specific costs involved with building a pool.

“The cost can vary significantly depending on the design and scope of the project,” Rauch wrote to the Talon. “From discussions with neighboring districts that have built pools, the estimated cost ranges between $4 million to $8 million, depending on factors such as the size of the pool and any additional facilities or amenities that may be included.”

Many other high schools in our area have pool facilities that double as community pools. In 2014, Adolfo Camarillo High School successfully opened its pool to students with costs adding up to $4.2 million. 

OPHS Assistant Principal Jason Meskis echoed some of the same concerns regarding building a pool on campus.

“The biggest restrictive factor is cost,” Meskis said. “The other issue would just be space, where we could put a pool on campus. But number one would be cost and how that could be funded.”

When asked what it would take from our community to build a pool at OPHS Mr. Rauch responded as such.

“It would take a strong, unified effort from the entire community—students, parents, faculty and staff,” Rauch wrote. “A project like this would likely require creative fundraising efforts, possibly through partnerships, sponsorships and exploring grants or other local funding options.”

If OPHS wants to see a pool constructed on campus, it will require a concerted effort from the entire community.