Nearly 2,000 visitors from all over the country gathered at the UH Campus Recreation natatorium this past month for the collegiate swim & dive competition on March 17, 2025. In a span of three weeks, UH Campus Recreation hosted the swim & dive championships for three athletic conferences: the Big West Conference (BWC), the Mountain West Conference (MWC) and the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
鈥淭he number of people that were here was a bit overwhelming, "said Head Lifeguard Kopeland Jones.
The Campus Recreation and Wellness Center natatorium is well-versed in hosting swim meets, often managing multiple events in quick succession. However, preparing for athletic conference competitions requires significantly more planning and setup.
鈥淲e can set up a standard swim meet in about an hour and a half,鈥� said Jones. 鈥淏ut a conference meet takes around five hours because it鈥檚 televised, and conferences want their branding featured prominently throughout the venue. We have to bring in the maximum number of bleachers, ensure the pool meets precise specifications, and eliminate any room for error. Essentially, we have to transform our facility to look and feel like it belongs to the conference.鈥�
Physically modifying the pool setup is a routine鈥攖hough labor-intensive鈥攖ask for the aquatics program, and Jones describes it as simply tedious manual work. However, the real challenge came from the influx of unfamiliar faces in the facility.
鈥淭he visiting teams are often unaware of our policies,鈥� Jones explained. 鈥淥ne major issue is swimmers leaving their gear on deck overnight, but we need to completely clear the area so custodians can properly clean the floors.鈥�
And it鈥檚 not just the athletes. Family members鈥攕ome visiting Texas for the first time鈥攈ave accidentally triggered alarms by opening emergency exit doors. With an event as large as these championships, it required more than just the aquatics staff to keep everything running smoothly.
鈥淚t was hectic鈥� even though people mean well it was a burden to have to keep enforcing rules,鈥� UH Recreation Building Supervisor Zelie Morrow said. 鈥淥ur staff was doing overtime and did the best they could. Even though it wasn鈥檛 ideal, we still had lots of fun!鈥�
Written by Vi Tran, Marketing Program Manager 鈥� Campus Recreation 鈥� Student Affairs.