Castaic Sports Complex Aquatic Center offers free swimming for seniors

Janet Shigekawa, 70, was an avid user of the Santa Clarita Aquatics Center pool as a way to exercise in her senior age. The Santa Clarita Aquatics Center is currently under renovation, so Shigekawa had to find a place to exercise in the water elsewhere. Shigekawa discovered the Castaic Sports Complex Aquatic Center and she is thankful that she did.

“I’m on a fixed income and swim for fitness three days a week and this has been saving me money,” wrote Shigekawa.

The Santa Clarita Aquatics Center, operated by the city of Santa Clarita, charges $4 per entrance fee for seniors. The Castaic Aquatic Center, operated by Los Angeles County Parks & Recreation, allows seniors to utilize the lap swimming pool free of charge.

“As a senior-friendly community and member of the American Association of Retired Persons (ARRP) since 2019, the city of Santa Clarita is committed to the quality of life and well-being of our residents,” said Janine Prado, director of recreation and community services at the city of Santa Clarita. “We consistently look for better ways to serve our senior population through programming, policy and services, and continually evaluate programs for improvement and opportunity to become more age-friendly.”

“Every five years the city completes a comprehensive fee study to evaluate and recommend fees for our programs and facility use,” wrote Carrie Lujan, communications division manager for the city of Santa Clarita, in an email to The Signal. “These fees take into account the cost of facility upkeep, range of amenities and the wide variety of programs offered.”

The Castaic Sports Complex Aquatic Center also has available aquatic exercise and aqua aerobics classes, free for seniors. The classes allow participants to have a beneficial workout without any impact on the joints. They are conducted in both deep and shallow water. Participants must be comfortable swimming.

The classes take place from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. on weekdays.

“Swimming helps a lot for their physical well-being, its easy on their joints and their body,” said Kelly Court, area pool supervisor at Castaic Sports Complex Aquatic Center. “It’s also good for their social life There is a lot of getting stuck in the house and not socializing.”

The Castaic Sports Complex Aquatic Center’s hours for the lap pool are as follows:

■ Monday-friday: 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

■ Saturday: 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.