Rochester Swimming, Inc.

06/10/2026

Master Craftsman: Have you ever watched someone do something that you thought was extremely difficult or impossible? There is a relatively small group of people in every industry that are so good at their craft that they make our heads spin.

We witnessed that today at the new Silver Lake pool in Rochester. For the past two weeks, the folks installing specialized pool filters, pool water heaters, and chemical equipment struggled to get all their high tech equipment up and running. This is all new computerized stuff that makes the old Silver Lake pool equipment seem ancient in comparison. Yet the pool heater and the splash pad computerized control system defied all attempts to work despite efforts by several groups of professionals.

After the splash pad and swimming pool opening were delayed, the leadership team called in Brad Thatcher, from Thatcher pools here in Rochester. There is almost nothing having to do with swimming pools that Brad doesn’t know and understand. He had prior experience with the new model of pool heater at Silver Lake. After a short period of time with Brad, the heater was running. This morning the water temperature was 82°.

Today Brad worked his magic on the splash pad. By 4 PM nearly 100 children were playing and enjoying themselves in the water.

What’s most remarkable is that only a couple people actually saw Brad perform his magic, behind the scenes in the filter/equipment room at Silver Lake. Of course, everybody saw the result with the new pool and the splash coming to life today. There were smiles all around, but most of the several hundred children and parents present had no idea about the talented man who got the new facility up and running today.

We know Brad Thatcher. He sits on our all-volunteer board of directors of Rochester swimming, Inc. We have seen him perform these sorts of tasks many times before and we are grateful for his expertise. Today, a big group of Rochester children became aware of Brad. If you happen to see Brad around the pool, be sure and thank him.

06/09/2026

Despite long hours of work and contractors efforts, the Silver Lake pool splash pad opening has been delayed. The county inspector identified several items that need to be corrected before the splash pad can open.

The new Silver Lake pool will open Tuesday at noon.

The new pool is expected to open on Tuesday.

06/07/2026

Warm temperatures Friday and Saturday brought Rochester residents to the Soldiers Field Aquatic Center. The waterpark is open for its third season after being renovated in 2023.

The new Silver Lake pool is scheduled to open on Monday.

06/05/2026

Thanks to all the generous business and individuals who donated to the effort to add a climbing wall, zip line and basketball hoop to the new Silver Lake Pool. Over $100,000 has been raised already! This for the new pool that “almost didn’t happen”!

If you wish to contribute, you can do so at
https://rochesterparksfoundation.org/

The new pool, splash pad and bathhouse opens on Monday, June 8.

Thanks again to everyone who made this pool a reality!

06/05/2026

Check out this video and interview with Park and Rec Director Paul Widman from KTTC TV about the new Silver Lake Pool. Nice!

KTTC News at Noon

06/04/2026

Great article in the Post Bulletin about the new Silver Lake Pool, opening Monday!

This was an exciting day for all of us. We lobbied for a new pool on the site when the city planned to close the old - 1960's era pool. The community responded, as did the park board, city council and city administration. Thanks to everyone who made this project a success.

Pool and splash pad are set to provide summer activities starting Monday.

06/02/2026

BUSY, BUSY…
on Friday we helped the Rochester swim club host a 400 freestyle/400 IM block party Meet.

On Saturday and Sunday we helped host the RSC Summer Jam with nearly 500 swimmers at the Rochester Recreation center. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped make this meet possible.

Today we finished putting up the Century high school pool/ record board with Dale Magnuson‘s help. It looks great.

We spent the rest of the day getting the new Silver Lake pool up and running. The new features that we helped raise money for, including the climbing wall, zip line and basketball hoop all look wonderful. The first “swimmers“ in the new pool are shown in the photos!

Much more to do this week!

05/29/2026

In addition to the high school pool and team record boards, generous donors have allowed us to contribute to the two outdoor pools in Rochester. We lobbied for the construction of a second outdoor pool when city planners wanted to replace the 60 year-old pool with a splash pad. Thanks to an outstanding community response, the new Silver lake pool and bathhouse will open next week. It’s a great pool for lap swimming, teaching lessons and a nice place for children to cool down on hot summer days.

We have been helping the city get ready to open the new Silver Lake pool and the Soldiers Field aquatic center. Rochester swimming Inc. donated $15,000 for a climbing wall, basketball and zip line at the Silver lake pool. RSI also donated 9 new 25 yard lane lines to Silver Lake pool ($8,000). Thanks to everyone who contributed.

Getting the outdoor pools ready for the summer is no simple task. Special thanks to the hard-working Park and Rec employees who do the heavy lifting, cleaning and maintenance. During the past week, during hot and cold weather, I’ve watched Troy work 12+ hour days, cleaning, fixing, and preparing the pools for the summer. As you enjoy the outdoor pools this summer, remember to thank Troy and his colleagues for everything that they do for us.

Truly remarkable: There is a big, beautiful maple tree on the east side of the pool that survived the demolition of the old pool and construction of the new pool. That tree was a landmark for the old pool, on the same site... and it is still there!

05/24/2026

Thanks to all the generous people who support what we do at Rochester Swimming, Inc. After the short course swimming season ended we have been busy. Over the next week we will highlight several projects that we have been working on.

During the boys high school season we noticed that the Century High School pool did not have any team or pool records posted in the pool. John Marshall had a 50 year old record board that was falling apart. Mayo has a nice board that was purchased about 8 years ago.

Working with the high schools, we purchased new record boards for Century and JM, identical to the team and pool record board at Mayo. We used $7,500 of donated funds to purchase the new boards and to update the Mayo High School Board. This project is nearly complete. Thanks to everyone who contributed and to the talented volunteers who helped to install the new record boards, Brad, Jeff, Dale, Quinten, Jim, Pat and Rich.

Stay tuned for information about other ongoing projects by Rochester Swimming, Inc.

05/24/2026

The city of Rochester announces opening dates for beaches and pools this summer. Details in comments.