August 3, 2022 – Orange, Calif. – Orange Unified School District celebrated the opening of the new Aquatic Center at El Modena High School yesterday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new pool deck. The new facility will meet the long-term needs of the Vanguard aquatics programs and provide a premiere space where students can learn, train, practice, and compete.
Highlights of the Aquatics Center include:
- A new scoreboard
- State-of-the-art Colorado Timing system
- Floating goals and a larger warm-up area for water polo
- Four new restrooms
- Two locker rooms
- Heated outdoor showers
- A training area/snack bar
- LED deck and pool lights
- Large indoor and outdoor storage areas
- Ten-lane, 30-meter pool
The new pool deck sits in the same footprint as the old one, but the pool itself has increased from 25 meters to 30 meters, allowing more student-athletes in the pool at one time. In addition, the new facility was designed to better serve the needs of modern-day aquatics programs.
“We are very appreciative of the patience and perseverance our student-athletes and their families have shown during the construction of this beautiful new facility,” said Superintendent Gunn Marie Hansen, Ph.D. “Despite having to share the pools of neighboring teams, they have maintained a wonderful aquatics program, and I look forward to seeing them thrive further with this new addition to their campus.”
El Modena High School’s original pool was built in 1972 and served OUSD’s students and community for 45 years. Planning for the El Modena Aquatic Center began in 2018 after plumbing system failures led to the closure of the pool.
