Newsroom: Active Duty Military Families To Receive Free Admission At Long Bridge Aquatics And Fitness Center

Arlington VA

17 May, 2021

6:52 PM

Description

Press release from the Arlington County Government: May 15, 2021 Active duty military families in the USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore's (USO-Metro) service area will be able to get free admission to Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center through USO-Metro thanks to a donation from The Boeing Company. An agreement recently signed by Arlington County and USO-Metro enabled this partnership. "We are grateful we can recognize the importance of our active duty military families by providing them with a day of fun and fitness in our new, state-of-the-art facility," said Arlington County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti. "Whether they want to get fit in our fitness center, train in our 50-meter pool, or have fun in our family pool with its splash pad and water slide, there is something for every member of our military families." The agreement between the USO-Metro and Arlington County specifies procedures for the distribution of approximately 5,000 daily passes per year for active duty military families to access Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center. Through a lottery system, service members and their families will receive daily passes to use all of the Center's amenities at no cost to them. "Thanks to our partner, The Boeing Company, USO-Metro is thrilled to be a community partner of the new Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center. This partnership will allow us to offer complimentary center passes to the local military community as well as work with the Center on programmatic initiatives," said President and CEO, Lisa Marie Riggins. Funding for this effort was provided by The Boeing Company as part of a donation agreement with Arlington County in September 2019. Boeing's total investment of $9.985 million will be used to support the operations and maintenance costs of the facility, including support for this effort to provide free access for active duty military personnel and their families over five years. Outreach with the USO will begin shortly after opening the new facility this summer. "Boeing is proud to ensure that the members of our armed forces and their families have convenient access to this new community facility. The Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center will be critically important in not only providing support for the recovery and rehabilitation of service members, but also promote general health and wellbeing for everyone in our community," said Jason Pak, Director, Boeing Global Engagement. About Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center The Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center is a 92,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art aquatics and recreation facility that serves the needs of health-conscious, fun-seeking and active individuals and families. The center is committed to the promise of fitness and fun for all who live in, work in and visit Arlington County. RELATED: Learn about the Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center project For those looking to fuel their competitive side the new facility includes a 50-meter pool with 1-meter, 3-meter, and 5-meter diving, a whirlpool, and two moveable bulkheads to create more opportunities in the pool. The 50-meter pool is for long and short course competitive swimming, water polo and synchronized swimming. On the other side of the facility, there is a family pool that includes a splash pad for tots, a water slide, four 25-yard lap lanes areas for swim classes and lessons, in-water volleyball and basketball and a lazy river. On dry land, the Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center includes an 8,000-square-foot fitness center with a variety of state-of-the-art cardio and fitness equipment plus a group studio for fitness classes. The facility also offers three community rooms and two wet-classrooms for fitness classes, parties and gatherings. Outdoors, this new development includes more than 10 acres of new parkland for casual use, an extension of the esplanade, a new public art piece, Sky Column, by Douglas Hollis and outdoor space for festivals and special events. This press release was produced by the Arlington County Government. The views expressed here are the author's own.