The Board of Directors has continuing responsibility for setting policies and addressing issues not directly addressed by the Pool Manager and lifeguarding staff. Pool Manager and staff have authority over the facilities at all times and are responsible for enforcement of rules and regulations. Parents are requested to instruct their children and sitters to observe all rules and obey instructions of the Pool Manager and staff. Failure to comply may result in revocation of membership privileges with no refund of fees already paid.

Access to the Club Property & FacilitiesGenerally speaking, the pool opens Memorial Day weekend and closes Labor Day weekend, but members have access to the trails, river, and tennis courts all year round (the off-season). There is no paid staff working during the off-season to assist with members’ access to or use of the trails, river, and tennis courts.

Access to the Club Parking Area

During regular season, the parking area gate will be opened at approximately 7AM and closed and locked at approximately 10PM. Members who arrive before 7AM are welcome to park just outside the gate and walk onto the property. Members who anticipate being on the property past 10PM should park outside the gate in order to avoid their vehicle being locked inside the lot. Staff closing the pool at night will not leave the gate open/unlocked for unattended vehicles left in the lot, and it is unlikely anyone will be available overnight to unlock the gate to free a vehicle. The Club will not be responsible for unattended vehicles locked inside the lot overnight during pool season.

During the off-season, the parking area gate will likely be closed and locked 24 hours a day (with exceptions for days on which off-season work projects are being conducted). It is highly advisable to park outside the gate if visiting the property in the off-season, even if the gate is open. The Club will not be responsible for unattended vehicles locked inside the lot day or night during the off-season.

Regular Season Pool Hours

The pool opens for Memorial Day weekend and operates on a limited schedule until the first week of June (whenever Albemarle County Public Schools release for the summer), at which point the regular season begins. Regular-season pool hours are as 11AM-9PM. The Club reserves the right to close early or open late due to swim meets, special events, inclement weather, and/or technical problems. The Pool Manager and lifeguard staff will do their best to keep the membership informed about early closings/late openings using the website, the club Google calendar, email, and/or social media. Call 434.977.7665 to speak to on-site staff.

In the rules that follow, the following terms refer to specific areas of the property:

• “Pool Road”: the unpaved road that begins at the intersection with Key West Drive andextends into the parking area.

• “Parking Area Gate”: the gate that leads into the parking area.2

• “Access Road”: the unpaved road that begins at the edge of the parking area, wraps around the tennis courts, and leads up to the pool area.

• “Pool Gate”: the gate at the entrance to the pool itself.

• “Pool Area”: the pool, the concrete apron and wood deck around the pool, and the wooded/unpaved area immediately surrounding the apron/deck.

• “Tennis Court Area”: the wooded area surrounding the tennis courts and the wooden viewing deck adjacent to the courts.

GENERAL POOL RULES

Our lifeguards are Red Cross-certified and undergo periodic trainings, but lifeguards are no guarantee against drowning, and they are not babysitters. It is critically important that parents/guardians watch their young children who are not competent swimmers.

Whenever young children/non-swimmers are near water, an attentive adult should be within arm’s reach at all times.

Staff who observe adults failing to monitor their young swimmers sufficiently are authorized and encouraged to speak to those adults. Repeated failure to comply with staff requests for increased monitoring of young swimmers may result in revocation of membership privileges with no refund of fees already paid.

Lifeguards and Pool Manager have authority over the pool, tennis courts, parking area, and trails at all times; all members are expected to follow their instructions.

• Enter and exit the Pool Area only through the Pool Gate. Do not enter/exit through the emergency gate by the diving well.
• Only lifeguards are permitted in the lifeguard stands/chairs and inside the Snack Shack.
• Do not speak to the lifeguard in the stand unless there is a safety emergency. For non-emergency matters, please seek the second lifeguard on duty.
• Anyone disregarding a lifeguard’s instructions will receive a verbal warning. Anyone continuing to behave inappropriately will be asked to leave the area and may lose privileges for a period of time to be determined by the Pool Manager.
• Upon arrival, members and guests must sign in using official procedures.
• Running, pushing, acrobatics, wrestling, horseplay, or excessive disturbances are not permitted in or around the pool.
• Inner tubes and rafts are not permitted in the pool except under special circumstances and with approval of the Pool Manager or Head Lifeguard on duty.
• Young children/fledgling swimmers may use arm floaties, swim vests, and learn-to-swim flotation aids, but these devices are no guarantee against drowning.  Parents/guardians must closely supervise their children in the pool AT ALL TIMES.
• Children must be at least ten years old and have passed the Swim Test to come to the pool without a guardian.
• At their discretion, lifeguards may call a 10-minute break every hour to clear the pool of swimmers under the age of sixteen.
• No chewing gum is permitted inside the pool area or on the tennis courts.
• No food is permitted in or immediately adjacent (i.e., right at the edge) to the pool or the tennis courts.
• Smoking is not permitted inside the pool area or on/adjacent to the tennis courts.
• Glass items are not permitted inside the pool area or on/adjacent to the tennis courts.
• Children who are not toilet-trained must wear swim diapers at all times when in the main pool or the wading pool.
• Proper bathing attire is required of all adults and children.
• Members must rinse/shower before entering the pool if excessively dirty (e.g., after spending time on the trails or at the river beach).
• Upon hearing thunder, guards will call a Thunder Break that will last 30 minutes; each subsequent rumble will start a new 30-minute countdown.
• Upon observing lightning or dangerously high winds, lifeguards will clear the entire pool area for the duration of the inclement weather.
• In cases of severe weather, lifeguards and/or Pool Manager have the authority to close the pool at their discretion.

DIVING AREA RULES

• Children under the age of 10 must pass the Swim Test in order to enter the diving well.
• Parents/guardians may not assist a child in the diving well who has not passed the test.
• Only one person is permitted on the diving board at the same time (parents/guardians may not go off the diving board with a child).
• Only one bounce is permitted before going off the diving board.
• Swimmers must dive/jump directly to the front from the board; do not dive/jump to either side.
• Swim to the side of the pool immediately after diving/jumping.
• Do not hang from the diving board.
• Wait to dive/jump from the board until the person who went before reaches the side of the pool.
• The diving well may NOT be used simultaneously for diving and games (e.g., Sharks & Minnows). In cases where swimmers cannot agree which activity (diving or games) to pursue, lifeguards and/or the Pool Manager have the authority to decide.
• When diving is the activity, no one should jump/dive from the sides of the pool or swim across.
• Do not play with the water or the spigot under the diving board.
• Lifeguards may close the diving well and/or the diving board at their discretion.

WADING POOL RULES

The lifeguards do not supervise the wading pool; parents/guardians must closely supervise their children in this area at all times. Children over the age of five are not permitted in the wading pool without their parents. Please close the wading pool gate when exiting the area.

HOT TUB RULES

Lifeguards do not monitor members in the hot tub; use the hot tub at your own risk.

Lifeguards nonetheless have authority over members using the hot tub regarding thunder/weather-related instructions as well has behavior (e.g., no horseplay).

• No one under the age of 14 may use the hot tub
• Proper bathing attire is required
• Maximum occupancy is four people
• Do not adjust the temperature settings or add chemicals, essential oils, soaps, bubble bath, etc. to the hot tub
• No toys, towels, or washcloths in the hot tub
• Do not sit or stand on the hot tub cover
• No diving or jumping into the hot tub
• Adult members have priority in the hot tub after 5PM
• Close the cover on the hot tub after using.

DOG RULES

Members may choose to bring dogs onto the trails in accordance with the rules below, but dogs are not permitted at the tennis courts or the pool area.

• No dogs or other pets inside the pool gate or on the tennis courts.
• Do not leave dogs (leashed or not) outside the pool gate or tennis courts.
• Dogs on trails and at the river beach should be leashed (per Albemarle County’s leash law).
• Members who consistently allow their dogs to roam off-leash and inconvenience/alarm/aggress against other members or other members’ dogs may have their membership revoked without refund of fees already paid.

PARKING/POOL ROAD RULES

Members who routinely exceed the 10MPH speed limit or drive dangerously on the pool road may have their membership revoked without refund of fees already paid.

Members are expected to use their parking permit hang-tags when parking anywhere on Club property; the Club may, at the discretion of the Pool Manager and/or members of the Board, have un-permitted vehicles towed from Club property at the owner’s expense.

In the main parking lot, do not block the access road (the “fire road”) that leads up to the pool area; this road must remain clear for emergency vehicles.

The area next to the pool gate is reserved for members needing handicapped access. Speed limit on the pool road is 10MPH, and drivers must yield to walkers, runners, and cyclists.

TRAIL/RIVER ACCESS RULES

Members enjoy year-round access to the trails and river at their own risk. While the Club may at times address hazards on the trails, these areas are natural, wild, and mostly ungroomed. Members might encounter wildlife (bears, copperheads, etc.), unstable and eroded river banks, fallen trees, loose and unstable rock walls, and barbed wire, particularly off the trails.

At the river’s edge and in the river itself, one might encounter broken glass or sharp metal, underwater hazards, and strong currents. Lifeguards are not trained to assist swimmers in distress in the river.

• Do not drive motorized vehicles on the trails or in the fields.
• Ride bicycles at your own risk (some parts of the trails are eroded very close to the edge of the bluff).
• Bicycles should cede the right of way to walkers and runners.
• Members who wish to volunteer to remove fallen trees/address trail hazards are encouraged to ask the Board for guidance and permission.

TENNIS COURT RULES

The tennis courts are available for member usage year-round, but there is no staff to maintain the courts in the off-season (which means leaves may accumulate, snakes may nest, etc.). During the summer season, tennis courts may be unavailable at times for tennis team practices and special events (generally speaking, the courts are free from 3PM on).

• Adult members have priority after 5PM
• Tennis shoes are required, no non-tennis footwear on the courts
• No one may sit on the railing of the viewing stand.

SWIM TEST

The swim test for children under the age of 10 consists of (1) swimming one length of the pool without stopping and without the aid of a flotation device, then (2) immediately treading water over one’s head for one minute, then (3) immediately jumping off the diving board and swimming to the edge. This test must be conducted by a lifeguard on duty, at a time when the lifeguard is available. Swimmers who pass the test will be marked as such in their household account.

GUEST POLICY

Members may bring guests to the Club in accordance with the following rules:

Guest fees are the responsibility of the sponsoring member.

Members must accompany their guests at all times while on Club property.

Adult guests residing in Charlottesville, Albemarle County, or the counties adjacent are limited to two visits per month, and child guests may visit up to four times a month.

House guests residing outside Charlottesville, Albemarle County, and the counties adjacent may have unlimited visiting privileges (paid at the regular guest fee rates).

Members under the age of 14 may not bring guests to the pool unaccompanied by an adult member of that member family.

Non-member grandparents visiting from out of town and accompanying their member grandchildren are not subject to guest fees.

Visiting the pool as a guest implies consent to be bound by the Rules, Releases of Liability, and Deemed Consent of the hosting member.

The Pool Manager may decline to admit a guest at his/her discretion.

SNACK SHACK RULES

The Snack Shack operates on a prepaid account or cash-only basis (no tabs) during regular pool hours. It closes one half-hour before the pool closes. As the lifeguards are primarily focused on the safety of members at the pool and daily maintenance of the facility, there may be times when assistance at the Snack Shack is temporarily unavailable.

CHILD-CARE PROVIDER POLICY

Members may designate a child-care provider who will bring the Member’s children to the Club at no extra charge, in accordance with the following rules:

Provider must be at least 14 years old.

Provider may not bring adult guests to the Club but may bring their own child/children who are subject to guest fees.

Provider must maintain control over and be responsible for children in his/her care.

Visiting the Club as a Provider implies consent to be bound by the Rules, Releases of Liability, and Deemed Consent of the hosting member.

DECK RENTALS

Members may rent tables on the raised deck for up to four hours during normal operating hours; all guests must pay the daily guest fee.

EARLY-BIRD LAP SWIMMING

Members who complete a waiver form (available on the website or from the Snack Shack) may swim laps at their own risk before opening, in accordance with the following rules:

• Members may not bring guests to early-bird lap swimming.
• Members may need to be instructed how to enter pool area, remove pool cover, etc.
• Members are strongly advised to swim with another member (the buddy system) and to bring a cell phone; the pool phone will not be available during these hours.
• Members will need to clear the pool before swim practice begins during swim season.
• Occasionally lifeguard in-service trainings will take place during early-bird hours; the dates of these trainings will be posted on the Club calendar and these trainings will take precedence over lap swimming.