Simpkins Family Swim Center & Live Oak Community Center 979 17th Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA 95062

"I have swam here for years, starting by doing simple swim lessons, and then eventually joining Cabrillo Threshers and then ACSC. The people there are hit and miss. Sometimes polite, sometimes rude."

"Fantastic pools with great staff. My kid loves to come for open swim in the shallow pool and I enjoy lap swimming. There are often lane closures for different activities going on so be sure to check the schedule. There are vending machines for snacks. The only downside is the bathrooms are kind of grungy and the showers are weird... The water comes out so hard it hurts! A lot! and it lasts only 15 seconds so not much of me actually gets wet, so I usually skip it and rinse when I get home. As a water saving measure I suppose it's working well."

"While it is a nice pool and facility, half of the pool is regularly closed because of the claim that there aren’t enough lifeguards. Is it because the pay is low or is it because the main supervisor, Max, is not a pleasant person with which to interact? If he treats his employees like he treats a lot of the rec swimmers, then I can see why lifeguard retention is low. There is a clear favoritism towards the Master’s and “in shape” swimmers, leaving the slower/older/non-regular swimmers cast aside. It is unfortunate because there isn’t much else in Santa Cruz County for swimming unless one joins a gym with small pools themselves. I find it frustrating because this is a County pool that obtains funding from taxes, plus charges usage fees, but there isn’t enough room to accommodate the number of people who want to use it. Why are lifeguards a requirement? Why can’t lap swimmers go “at their own risk” by signing a waiver? I can see needing someone where children/Jr Guards are, but serious swimmers don’t need the stringent oversight that seems to be necessary in our litigious culture. It’s a shame that the perception of a difficult lifeguard supervisor is the reason why half the pool is regularly closed. I’m sad to think that it will not get better during the upcoming closure and then reopening after construction in Spring/Summer 2022. During the closure, I hope that management can work on the attitude of the supervising lifeguards in order to hire (and retain) more employees; because the adage is: all problems are management problems. Improving management trickles down the line and can make using the pool a positive experience for EVERYONE!"

"We take our 3-year old for classes here and are very impressed with the set up. Lots of classes so the kids can join and their level. Teachers take the kids swim education seriously without becoming ‘boring’. There’s plenty of fun yet our son made significant progressed in just one month. The only downside is that in the autumn there aren’t enough teachers so it’s really hard to get into classes after September."

"My 5-year old son and I went to Simpkins for the first time this past Saturday, and were duly impressed. There are different swim sessions open to different age/skill groups, so that was great for us as my son is just learning to swim, and would be distracted if older kids were in the pool with him. In "open swim", on certain weekend times, only kids 6 and under are allowed, which was perfect for us. There are life guards at every pool/area, and they're very attentive, and we felt safe. The facilities were clean, the staff friendly, and prices reasonable ($6 for me and $4 for my son). We will definitely be going back soon."