Tigard and Tualatin Pool History
Tigard Swim Center
The Tigard Swim Center began construction in 1969 and was opened February 7, 1970 with a dedication ceremony held March 1. It was funded as part Tigard Tualatin School District under direction of Delbert Fennel and used for high school athletics, elementary education and public recreation. Headed by the district's first Aquatic Director Bill Dendurant, the pool provided swim lessons to every elementary school student in the district free of charge until 2003. Director Dendurant was a driving force in bringing the sport of water polo to Oregon and helped coach Tigard High schools water polo, swimming and diving teams. The pool was a success from the start, bringing in families, seniors from King City and kids of all ages. By 1972, Dendurant was pushing for another pool to be built located more centrally near Fowler Junior High School to help ease the crowds at the Tigard pool.
August of 1985 saw the second director take charge of the high school pool. Mike Branam, the longest serving director ran the pool and eventually the district until 2019. Coming in as a school administrator and coach from St. Helens, Oregon, he quickly jumped into the role and continued in the success of Tigard High Schools swimming and water polo programs. With head instructor Vikki Davis (Frosty) and assistant swim coach Andy Carlisle helping run the school lesson program, the Tigard pool continued to be bursting at it's seams.
With the formation of Tualatin High School opening in 1992, plans were underway to finally expand to ease the crowds of elementary students and allow Tualatin High School a pool of their own for their teams. Mike Branam was vital in developing a pool fit for competition, yet still usable for the public and school education.
August of 1985 saw the second director take charge of the high school pool. Mike Branam, the longest serving director ran the pool and eventually the district until 2019. Coming in as a school administrator and coach from St. Helens, Oregon, he quickly jumped into the role and continued in the success of Tigard High Schools swimming and water polo programs. With head instructor Vikki Davis (Frosty) and assistant swim coach Andy Carlisle helping run the school lesson program, the Tigard pool continued to be bursting at it's seams.
With the formation of Tualatin High School opening in 1992, plans were underway to finally expand to ease the crowds of elementary students and allow Tualatin High School a pool of their own for their teams. Mike Branam was vital in developing a pool fit for competition, yet still usable for the public and school education.
Tualatin Swim Center
Ground was broken to build the Tualatin High School Swim Center in the spring of 1997. The pool would be 8 lanes, larger than the 6 lane Tigard Swim Center, slightly deeper for diving, water polo and designed for the continued success of the Tigard Tualatin School District athletes. It would allow the growing elementary school population to continue to receive free swim lessons with shorter travel times for Bridgeport, Byrom and Tualatin Elementaries.
The Tualatin Swim Center opened 1998 to a continued crowd as Tigard Swim Center (now nearly 30 years old) was closed for some needed restoration. With a new pool in the district, the local youth team switched their name from the Tigard Aquatic Club to the Tigard Tualatin Swim Club to help include both pools and cities. Tigard pool reopened in 2000 and both pools ran smoothly for some time.
2003 saw the end of the elementary school swim program as budgets saw transportation costs rising, transporting classrooms to and from two pools every day of the school year. With the pool staff payroll now doubled running two facilities and no benefit for the school district other than high school athletics, the school board proposed shuttering both pools in 2009 to save costs.
The Tualatin Swim Center opened 1998 to a continued crowd as Tigard Swim Center (now nearly 30 years old) was closed for some needed restoration. With a new pool in the district, the local youth team switched their name from the Tigard Aquatic Club to the Tigard Tualatin Swim Club to help include both pools and cities. Tigard pool reopened in 2000 and both pools ran smoothly for some time.
2003 saw the end of the elementary school swim program as budgets saw transportation costs rising, transporting classrooms to and from two pools every day of the school year. With the pool staff payroll now doubled running two facilities and no benefit for the school district other than high school athletics, the school board proposed shuttering both pools in 2009 to save costs.
TTAD Formation
With the help of some very ambitious individuals, the guidance of director Mike Branam and huge amount of work by Tigard morning supervisor and Tualatin High School Swim coach Jeanine Serrano the Tigard Tualatin Aquatic District began to take shape. With Jeanine rallying the public to help "Save our Pools" an agreement was made with the school district to allow current staff to continue managing the pool under the management and funding of a new special tax district, voted on and supported by the public. The district would continue to cover everyone who lives under the umbrella of the Tigard Tualatin School District, be supported by a local option levy and continue to serve everyone. At a tax rate of $.09/$1000 of assessed property tax, the Tigard Tualatin Aquatic District took shape and was officially created in July of 2010.
Covid and the Future
2019 saw Mike Branam's retirement and our third Aquatic Director step in. Anthony Markey took the reins and kept both pools running through some difficult times. 2020's Covid epidemic saw some creative and interesting times at the pool. With social distancing and the fear of spreading the virus many facilities were ordered to close. Both pools remained open for lap swimming with a reservation process and an extreme limit on numbers of individuals allowed at a time. Anthony Markey did an amazing job looking out for his employees for as long as he could. Unfortunately, the state of Oregon decided to lock everything down and TTAD's remaining full time staff were furloughed until the virus was less of a threat. As things improved and life eventually returned to normal, Anthony was presented with an opportunity he could not pass up. He left TTAD in 2024 to help run the brand new Lake Oswego Recreation and Aquatic Center or LORAC off Stafford road in Lake Oswego.
With Anthony's departure, TTAD promoted a long time employee into the 4th ever Aquatic Director spot. John Ruzicka, a local swimmer turned lifeguard, swim instructor and swim team coach now took charge of a pool he had worked at since 1998. Being a member of the community, long time user and employee, John has many ideas of what direction TTAD and the pools should head. With the growth of both Tigard and Tualatin, the need for community recreation facilities, much like the proposed YMCA in downtown Tigard, hopes are high for an expansion to the district to better serve all members of the community.
With Anthony's departure, TTAD promoted a long time employee into the 4th ever Aquatic Director spot. John Ruzicka, a local swimmer turned lifeguard, swim instructor and swim team coach now took charge of a pool he had worked at since 1998. Being a member of the community, long time user and employee, John has many ideas of what direction TTAD and the pools should head. With the growth of both Tigard and Tualatin, the need for community recreation facilities, much like the proposed YMCA in downtown Tigard, hopes are high for an expansion to the district to better serve all members of the community.
More photos coming soon!