By Mike Wood

Staff writer

Friday, May 23 ( 9:00 a.m.): A big help in pool accessibility are aquatic lifts in all three pool areas in Rossmoor: indoors at Tice Creek Fitness Center and outdoors at the Dollar and Hillside pools.

Aquatics staff recently had refresher training on how to operate the lifts, Fitness and Aquatics Manager Jackie Carlisle noted during her report at the May 8 Aquatics and Fitness Advisory Committee meeting. One lift, including a counterweight of 700 pounds, is 1,185 pounds altogether.

Because the lifts are so heavy and cannot be moved, they must be situated where it makes the most sense. The lifts help residents who use them to get in and out of the water when that otherwise would be challenging.

“This lift is located at the most convenient and safest area of the pool that does not impede swimmers and allows the user to exit into the shallow water near the stairs in the well,” Carlisle said of one at Hillside Pool.

Speaking of heavy equipment, Carlisle thanked the maintenance team for freeing up Fitness Center floor space by moving out items that were no longer needed and rearranging other sizable equipment. This achieved more practical use of space. For example, a stretching table was moved upstairs for a more private place to stretch.

Space was also made available for a new Ocular and Vestibular Exercise Board, which has been a pet project of fitness trainer Katleen Lamport.

“She has been very passionate about doing this,” Carlisle said. Lamport had noticed that some residents were losing balance, and she wanted to do something to help them, she added.

“This will allow one to practice specific eye and vestibular exercises to help improve one’s balance by strengthening the eye muscles,” Carlisle explained.

Also discussed at the meeting: • The resurfacing of the Tice pools is aimed for September and October. Ann Mottola, Rossmoor Walnut Creek director of resident services, told the committee at its April meeting that the RWC (formerly GRF) Board unanimously approved a capital budget expenditure of $221,924 for the project. This time frame would allow the work to be done at Tice while the weather is still nice for the outdoor pools, before they close for the winter, she explained.

• Rebranding the Wall of Fame honor for the Fitness Center. The committee didn’t discuss any options for a new name for the recognition, which has recently focused more on everyday users of the Fitness Center rather than athletic standouts.

• Free offerings from Fitness Center trainers, which now total 71 per week. When new part-time trainer Tracy Perrilliat joined the staff in March, she added UJAM Fitness and Stretch, Strength and Stretch and Let’s Stretch classes to the free offerings, and trainer Terry Hummel added a Functional Fitness class. Six sessions from those classes have brought total weekly free offerings to 71, a number that also includes “introductions,” a retitling of what used to be called orientations.

• Those using the Fitness Center comprise over 52% of the Rossmoor resident population, Carlisle said, based on figures from April 2024 to March 2025. There were 4,934 unique users of the Fitness Center during that time frame – 52.4% of Rossmoor’s population.

• That Wednesdays turned out to be the busiest day at the Fitness Center during March and April, slightly more than Mondays, which previously had been the busiest.