Ayo Swimming Pool is set to receive new capital improvements, offer more student employment opportunities and will be open more times throughout the year.
The University was approached by Crawfish Aquatics South, a swim program from the Baton Rouge area, as to the availability of leasing the swimming pool, Mike Matherne, director of campus recreation, said.
The University and Crawfish Aquatics South signed a lease with a term that started on Feb. 1, 2013 and will end on Dec. 31, 2017, if on Dec 31, 2017 both parties agree the contract can be extended another five years.  
“Crawfish Aquatics will offer competitive training, master swimming programs, swim lessons, high school and middle school competitions, also United States Swimming Invitations, which is when teams come from out-of-state to compete,” Steven Ripple, owner of Crawfish Aquatics, said.
“The lease states that Crawfish Aquatics South will incur the expenses of operating the swimming pool, which is about $40,000 in life guard expenses and $35,000 in chemical expenses. These are expenses the University will no longer have to pay,” Matherne said.  
Along with the expenses Crawfish Aquatics South will incur, they will also contribute $175,000 in capital improvements. The improvements include a heater for the pool, a movable bulk head, which will enable the pool to meet certain swimming regulations depending on age groups and types of rules in place for the meets, touch pads that will be used like in the Olympics when a swimmer touches the wall the timer stops, and a score board, Matherne said.
“The quid pro quo of the deal is that Crawfish Aquatics South is not giving us dollars to lease the pool, but they are going to give the University capital improvements, which the University could not afford otherwise,” Matherne said.
Along with great exposure for the University, the different aquatics programs will offer student employment opportunities for students to work with the programs, Ripple said.
“There will still be free swim time at no cost for students, faculty and staff. To my knowledge Crawfish Aquatics will operate team practices and meets early in the morning and very late evenings,” Matherne said. “The biggest advantage is that once the heater is installed, the pool will be used 10 months out of the year as opposed to the five months we do now.”
Crawfish Aquatics South chose the University pool because of the environment and the icon of the University.
“We chose the University because it was an area that is well-known and a landmark in the tri-parish area,” Ripple said. “The University had a pool that offered the potential for impacting and influencing people in an area where children are exposed to water. Behind motor vehicles, drowning is the leading cause of death in children under 18, so we are very passionate about impacting children’s lives and we saw the need there. We are not looking for a return on investment, we are just looking to impact children.”
Crawfish Aquatics South offers opportunities for swimmers ages five and up.  The programs range from year-round team programs, adult programs from ages 19 and up, lessons and high school leagues. The website, crawfishaquaticssouth.com, offers information on uniform costs, coaching information, meet information and any other important information for current and potential swimmers.
“We are humbled and blessed for the opportunity,” Ripple said.