The Fresno State Aquatics Center has opened the pool area to its students and faculty for fitness swimming.

Aug. 15, 2012 the pool area will be open to students and faculty to use between 4:30-7:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 4:30-6:30 p.m. on Fridays.

Access for students is free when they present their Fresno State ID at the gate. The cost for faculty is $15 for a pool membership or $35 for a Student Recreation Center and pool membership combination.

Paul Ladwig, senior associate athletics director for External Relations, feels that students have a great opportunity to use a state-of-the-art facility.

“We have a great facility right here on campus that students can access for free in the late afternoon and early evenings,” Ladwig said. “This is a chance to do a great exercise in a tremendous venue.”

Students are already using the facility to work out or just cool off.

Titus Moore, who played for his high school water polo and swim teams, uses the pool at least four times a week and said that the difference between Fresno State’s old and new pool are immeasurable.

“I’ve played in a bunch of different pools and this is definitely one of the nicer pools I’ve ever played in throughout California,” Moore said.

The new Aquatics Center has been open for the past year but was not open to general student use; it was reserved only for athletic use and classes.

“They had the old indoor pool and I was using that for a while, then this one came up but there weren’t any hours for us to use it,” Moore said.

Moore hopes that he can use this fitness swim time to start up a future Fresno State Swim club.

The pool area will be closed to students beginning on Nov. 15. It will be opened again on March 1, 2013 through May 31, 2013.

There are a limited amount of lanes available, so students are advised to be aware and courteous of other potential users.

Entry to the pool area does not grant access to the Kinesiology pool, and neither the starting blocks nor diving boards are to be used.

The Lap Pool is designed for fitness and lap swimming only. Horseplay, balls and lessons are not permitted in the pool area, officials said.

Configuration of the pool can change according to the needs of the swim team, so dates and times are also subject to change accordingly.

Two lifeguards are on duty at all times during fitness swim hours for student safety. For more information about the pool area call 559-347-3876.