Liberty Natatorium
The state-of-the-art 75,000-square-foot Liberty Natatorium, connected to the Liberty Indoor Track Complex on Liberty Mountain, has elevated Liberty University’s NCAA Division I women’s swimming & diving team and men’s club swimming programs, while also attracting students and community members of all ages.
The natatorium opened in December of 2017.
Located beneath the LU monogram at the base of the mountain, the facility features a nine-lane, 50-meter pool with a movable bulkhead. A separate 17-foot-deep diving well includes 1- and 3-meter springboards and a three-column tower, featuring 1, 3, 5, 7.5 and 10-meter platforms. A surface agitator and a sparger system under all three tower columns ensures diver safety while training.
The 25-yard wide pool can be divided into 20 lanes for short-course training, with an additional eight lanes in the diving well, allowing multiple teams to practice concurrently. With its proximity to the indoor track, it is equipped to host indoor triathlons, as well.
The entire natatorium and indoor track complex shares a 6,554-square-foot weight room and 2,400-square-foot training room that includes a 1,000-square-foot hydro room with an underwater treadmill and two plunge pools kept at 57 degrees.
At 75,000 square feet, the natatorium is much larger than the current LaHaye Aquatics Center pool, which will continue to be used for recreational purposes.
The new building also features a barreled roof and plenty of glass to allow for natural lighting. The facility has a seating capacity of 1,414, with wraparound, three-sided bowl seating located along the 25-yard racing portion of the pool where collegiate competitions take place. A unique feature for a swimming venue, top nine finalists are introduced to the bowl seating via a permanent, built-in, 260-square-foot ready room.
Other features include a 12.5′ x 41.5′ main swimming video board, a secondary 6′ x 10′ diving scoreboard, 21-foot decks, a 720-square-foot athletic training room, varsity locker rooms, a 1,600-square-foot team lounge, a 1,400-square-foot wet classroom and an Elite Model Endless Pool.
Aside from the natatorium’s technical features, air and water quality are also of the highest importance. The natatorium combines a 1-2 micron regenerative filter with an ultraviolet light disinfect system, ensuring premium water quality amidst heavy usage. Air quality features include a Paddock Evacuator push/pull, in-gutter system. The first of its kind in the country, the system pumps in fresh air and exhausts stale air from the surface of the water, through the pool gutter, at 8,000 cubic feet per minute.
Like the adjacent indoor track, the natatorium is equipped to host regional, state and national meets for high school, collegiate, YMCA and USA Swimming programs, as well as offer training opportunities for professional athletes.
The facility is equipped with the latest technology that allows the Liberty Flames Sports Network to provide live broadcasts of Liberty’s home meets. It also houses a nutritional area with a juice bar/smoothie station to provide student-athletes with recovery protein shakes.
Our learn to swim clinics feature our Elite Model Endless Pool, a revolutionary technology in swim technique and training. Benefits of learn to swim clinics in the Endless Pool include:
- Warm water. Nothing ruins learning to swim for young children faster than a cold pool!
- Three different mirrors provide instant stroke feedback. Your child can watch themselves while learning stroke technique - an invaluable aid to the brain when learning new skills.
- Variable current speed control ensures your child learns at the perfect rate for him/her.
- The small 8’x14’ size of the Endless Pool ensures an intimate teaching atmosphere and reduces fear and anxiety for new swimmers. Furthermore, we limit class sizes to just four children. Your little one is a student, not a number!
- Underwater benches around the interior of the pool provide a place to stand between swimming activities.
- A smaller pool is a safer pool.
- The pool is easily viewable for parents, further reducing anxiety and fear for new swimmers. Parents and guardians are always visible.
