Ocean View starts digging for pool

After waiting 30 years, Ocean View High School celebrated the groundbreaking of its soon-to-be Olympic-sized pool with faculty, students, alumni, community members and future students.

Shovels in hand, more than 100 people came out to the school’s groundbreaking ceremony Saturday. The facility, which includes boys’ and girls’ locker rooms, restrooms and showers, a concessions stand, storage, an office and a ticket booth, is expected to be completed in a year.

“It’s a wonderful facility not only for the school, but the whole community,” said Van Riley, the Huntington Beach Union High School District superintendent.

The pool complex is being built with city redevelopment agency fees allocated to the district, Riley said. About $11.6 million is going to the pool, said school board President Bonnie Castrey.

Ocean View is the only school in the district without a pool and has been using neighboring high schools’ facilities.

Swim team member Danielle Steiner, 15, said she and her teammates are bused over to the Westminster High School pool for practice. The new pool will allow the team to improve and get more people to join the program, Danielle said.

“I think it could really help, because we could practice more,” she said.

The pool will be used for water polo, swimming and diving, and be open for community use, Riley said. Future students are already anticipating using the facility.

Madison Payne, 4, a pre-kindergartner at Oak View Elementary School, attended the groundbreaking with a miniature shovel and said she was impatient to swim in the pool.

“And I don’t need my floaties,” she said.