Year-round, regional swimming facility and programs unveiled

North Charleston Mayor R. Keith Summey, Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Mount Pleasant Mayor Billy Swails, South Carolina State Representative Wendell Gilliard, former world-ranked swimmer Marco Cavazzoni, and Logan Rutledge Children’s Foundation President Mark Rutledge unveiled plans for improvements to the swimming facility at the Danny Jones Complex and area swim initiatives on Friday, May 11, 2012.

Once completed, the Danny Jones Complex will be fully enclosed and heated for year-round access and will give a significant boost to local Lowcountry aquatic athletics and programming. In addition, the benefits of the improvements will be passed along to the North Charleston community, providing an endless swimming season.

The improvements to the Danny Jones Complex are the culmination of a regional effort of individuals in the local swim community, led by Dr. Cavazzoni through the Logan Rutledge Children's Foundation. A few months ago, the group approached the City of North Charleston to address the Lowcountry's lack of a swimming facility to accommodate year-round, indoor training for competitive swimmers, education in water safety, swimming lessons, and senior aquatic activities. The group's Lowcountry Aquatics Program (LAP) seeks to provide lifelong aquatics opportunities for Lowcountry residents - with a special emphasis on teaching children in underprivileged Lowcountry areas to swim, thus reducing the incidence of accidental drownings.

With the City of North Charleston on-board, the group began raising private funds, setting a goal of $250,000. In addition to the private fundraising, the Town of Mount Pleasant has committed $100,000 toward the project. Furthermore, Mayor Riley pledged to seek $25,000 in the City of Charleston’s 2013 Budget for the Logan Rutledge Foundation’s Learn to Swim programs in conjunction with the Charleston County School District.
Click here for a statement from the City of Charleston.

North Charleston City Council voted on February, 23, 2012 for an initial round of funding to begin the first phase of the $1,000,000 Danny Jones Complex project. North Charleston will also incur ongoing operational and maintenance costs to the facility.

The month of May has been declared “Water Safety Awareness Month,” as adopted by the South Carolina General Assembly, House Resolution 3310. Representative Gilliard was a key sponsor on the resolution.

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