Flowers Hall at the University of North Alabama is known for its competitive athletics and holding several graduations throughout the year; however, many students are unaware of the swimming pool on the first floor.

Currently the swimming pool is used for the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation classes, state-wide senior Olympics, police training and organizations in the Shoals community.

“Recreational swim hours are there, [the Student Recreation Center] is not scheduling them,” said Thomas Coates, HPER department chair. He said his department has spent $1,500 of its budget this year purchasing new items for the pool.

The first two floors of Flowers Hall have not been fully renovated since the gymnasium opened in the 1970s. The women’s changing room is located on the third floor, the men’s on the second and the pool with stadium seating is on the first floor.

The humidity on the first floor of the gymnasium is at a high level and would require a new system to balance the moisture in the air.

Despite the humidity, the water quality is excellent. Coates said the HPER department plans to expand its academic curriculum by adding classes in scuba diving, sailing, white water rafting and canoeing.

During the Student Government Association election, a few questions listed pertained to student activity of the pool. SGA senator Erin Dulaney and University Program Council pro-tempore Allison Ray have been researching the issue of student recreational usage for the past few weeks.

“My ultimate goal for doing this research is to get the opinion of the UNA students and be their advocate,” said Ray.

Ray said that she had spoken with the director of the SRC, Jim Eubanks, concerning the pool and was told it was closed due to lack of utilization.

The pool had been previously available for recreational usage until recently. “I used the pool almost every day it was open as my schedule allowed,” said Ray. “Before I came to UNA, I had never done any serious swimming before.”

She said when she was a freshman her roommate was the first person to get her interested in swimming, and it has since grown to become a passion for her.

“If Flowers Hall had not been opened at the time, I would have never had the opportunity to realize and pursue this passion,” said Ray.

Coates said that the SRC could increase the pool usage by hosting movie nights or by adding intramural sports.

Ray said that through her research she had found that many students didn’t know UNA had a pool available for them, what hours it was open or where it was located. “Better advertising and marketing is essential if the pool is reopened,” said Ray.