All El Modena swim sports are fighting for the chance to acquire a 51 meter pool, as opposed to the current 33 meter pool.

A school board meeting took place in early September to decide whether the current pool should be repaired or replaced entirely. Some of El Mo’s aquatics students attended the meeting, and they all fought for the length renovations to be made. Sophomore Ryan Johnson, a student representative at the meeting, stated “We all wore red 51 meter hats, and tried our best to get the board to notice that we really cared.”

The aquatics department is hopeful, but the renovations would be costly. The Department of Education estimated the cost of adding the extra 18 meters to be approximately five million dollars.

Polo players are also pushing the new renovation to make practice easier, as they have to travel to Villa Park High to practice every day. Currently during practice, the swimmers are packed too tightly; the larger pool would allow for practices to be more organized. Many parents have also complained about the current situation, some stating that the drive is difficult to fit into their schedules.

These renovations would also make El Mo’s aquatics facilities more sought after. Swimmers and Water Polo players look for schools with outstanding aquatics programs, in its current state, El Mo’s program doesn’t fit the bill. These renovations would ensure that the Vanguard aquatics squads remain competitive.