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Aquatic Center
With the opening of this venue, we continue to meet the demands of the top rated education VMI provides for all of its cadets both academically and athletically.
Construction on the $44 million facility began December 2020, and it contains an indoor 50-meter swimming pool - Goodall Pool - which holds 800,000 gallons of water. It has two 1-meter springboards, two 3-meter springboards, and a 5-meter dive platform, plus seating for 570 spectators. The pool is large enough to be divided into three sections, making diving, water polo, and competitive swimming possible simultaneously. NCAA teams will be able to use it for practice and competition, and ROTC and the Department of Human Performance and Wellness will use it for training, as VMI requires all students to take one semester of swimming. Cadet clubs, like the scuba club, will also find it valuable. High water entry exercises, which had been done in the Maury River, can now be conducted indoors. The pool is a “smart pool” in that the chemical balance and temperature are all regulated by a computer. Various sensors are located throughout the system in the inner workings of the pool, and as water flows past the sensors, messages are transmitted to the computer. If the pH or temperature needs correcting, it is done by the computer.
The Knights of Pythias building, also known as the American Legion building, a structure with historic ties to Lexington’s African-American community, has been renovated and is connected to the Aquatic Center via a glass walkway. The main level is used as coaches’ offices and a conference room, the upper level is used for classrooms.
—Action shots by Randall K. Wolf and Lexie West.
Just before Christmas 2020, initial steps began for VMI’s new aquatic center, officially known as the Corps Physical Training Facility Phase III (Aquatic Center). The center was built alongside North Main Street, immediately adjacent and connected to the Corps Physical Training Facility.
Completion of the center brought to an end the phased approach for athletic facility renovations and additions that began in 2014, which included renovations of Cormack and Cocke Halls and the building of the Corps Physical Training Facility, which opened in the fall of 2016, providing significant and enhanced indoor fitness training elements for cadets, as well as home to the Institute’s NCAA track teams. The building provides a venue for ROTC and individual cadet physical training in inclement weather.
The ribbon cutting and dedication of Virginia Military Institute’s Corps Physical Training Facility Phase III, the Aquatic Center took place Jan. 27. Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins ’85, superintendent celebrated the event with local dignitaries and special guests including Frank Friedman, mayor of Lexington; Lt. Gen. John W. Knapp ’54, former VMI superintendent; Thomas H. Zarges ’70, Alumni Agencies Board of Directors chairman; Thomas “Tom” Watjen ’76, Board of Visitors president; the VMI Board of Visitors; alumni; cadets; and many of those who had a hand in the project for the special event.