Ticket Lottery Introduced For Alexandria Public Pool Access

ALEXANDRIA, VA — The City of Alexandria is changing its approach to how it admits limited numbers of people into public pools during the pandemic. The city decided to introduce a lottery system for Warwick Pool and Old Town Pool to ensure more families have access to open swim time slots.

Pools opened for the season on July 1 and thus far have run on first-come, first-serve tickets. Tickets were limited, as pools must operate with social distancing and other safety measures.

Under the new approach, residents will request tickets each Thursday and Friday for the following Monday through Sunday. Each household can request up to three time slots per week, including one per day.

Each time slot is for 45 minutes of pool time. A ticket can admit four people per family at Old Town pool or eight people per family at Warwick pool. Memorial Pool is not included in the lottery system due to scheduled programming and limited availability for swimming.

The lottery system requests are processed on Saturdays, and households will be notified if they have secured a timeslot or place on the wait list. Admission fees are due upon arrival at the pool.

Lap swim tickets for Old Town Pool and Chinquapin Park Recreation Center & Aquatics Facility’s indoor pool continue to be reserved through the existing ticketing system. These tickets are released on Thursdays at 9 a.m. for the following week.

Under the Forward Virginia phase three guidance, pools can be open for diving, exercise, and instruction. Lap swimming is limited to three persons per lane, and family open swim is allowed with ten feet of physical distancing between households. Outdoor pool tickets are not offered to non-Alexandria residents at this time.

The summer outdoor pool season runs through Labor Day (Sept. 7).

For more information and tickets, visit www.alexandriava.gov/Aquatics.