Westerville Community Center — Attraction in Westerville

The hours for the Rec Center are good for people who work. I used to go over and swim a couple of miles around 6 AM.

Our son is a huge b-ball player and they have plenty of courts. Sometimes the high schools practice here. Not sure why but they're all really nice kids and are welcoming to new kids. .

This is a great place to swim in the 2 pools - one for laps and diving and one with lazy river, kids area, and deeper end. They have a lot of swim classes but parents beware watch your children at ALL times this pool can get very busy. Also watch during little ones swim lessons. There was one occasion that I'm aware of where a child almost drown. The parent had to jump in fully clothed to pull their child out. That teacher was obviously not paying close enough attention but for the most part they do a good job. During free swim we're always in the pool and right with our little ones when they're in the pool.

In the summertime there are great camps for kids ages K - 5th grade, run from 9 AM till 4 PM. You can pay a little extra for early drop off or late pick up. You can do that for the length of camp or by the day/week. If you have a child who's less outdoorsy or can't be in the sun, there are indoor activities and there's always a person in each of the rooms. The kids come home tanned, sweaty, and usually pretty worn out. If you have a child who's less than enthusiastic, they'll acclimate quickly. (As far as I'm aware there have never been problems with kids or counselors.)

There are travel camps for the older kids which are really nice as well. They go by bus Lots of places some camps stick closer to home others travel further.

There's a room for pre-teens and teens with some video games and room to chill, get a snack, and do homework or listen to music. They have some teen activity nights which seem to be well attended.

In the atrium there's a really nice climbing wall, and some themed play structures for younger children. This is NOT a supervised area, you are required to stay with your kids at all times in this area... All areas for the younger ones unless they're in childcare. But there's really nice comfortable seating for the parents. This area doesn't get crowded at least not during the day when I've been there.

People work out in the fully equipped gym from 6 AM til 9 PM. They have personal trainers if you'd like that, and a track to run or walk. And I think they also do body fat measurements.

They have all sorts of lessons, activities, and classes for toddlers thru adults.They have a nice clean room with child care for a very reasonable fee which was on an incremental punch card system. I believe it's on a half hour or maybe an hourly rate per punch which of course they tally up. So be advised if you only meant to take an hour but end up coming back an hour and 15 min to an hour and 59 min you'll pay for an extra punch. Cards are purchased at the front as you walk into the building. They cannot accommodate children who are sick because it's just one room which generally has several children and lots of surfaces that would hold germs. So keep your sickies at home where they belong! (BTW, This it should be obvious, but you just never know, childcare is only for very young children AND is only for parents who are in the building taking a class, swimming, playing in the gym, or in the weight and track area. Don't leave the building, other than maybe to run to your car, or you might be greeted by the police or child services when you return!)

It's a really nice facility with pretty much something for everyone. As a resident you can join. It's not cheap but it has so much to offer. You can get a day pass for $5 and there's also a 3 month program. You can join the entire facility, just the pool, or just the gym. So it's pretty flexible. Rates for non-residents are just...

Pretty impressive: checkout their website intro video Pros: -3+ pools (lap w/ reservations, hot tub, play structure + slides + square pool, and a warm water pool) -Lots of basketball courts (although they could use markings for keys on 1/2 the courts) -Walking track + extra room for add'l exercises inbetween -A cardio + weight machines are and a free weight are, both with big windows facing north -a climbing wall w/ auto-belays & 4 difficulty sections (easy to hard--for beginners) -a challenging "adventure course" (aka ninja warrior-type course) -lots of pickleball courts -good non-resident & great resident monthly rates -lots of easy insta-customer-code dial lockers (w/ a worker close by if you forget your code)

mixed: -the website can be a bit confusing to a new person--although it does have a lot of info -The check-ins are ... scattered through the building at each separate section--to help management keep track of users per area. However, on busy weekends, you must also get a wrist band b/c of this (vs just having people scan their key barcode at one of the entrances and go). (I'm used to another excellent public rec center where you scan your picture ID card at the entrances & .you're in.)

cons: -not really enough lap lanes for the demand -the lap lane reservation system, while necessary b/c of limited lanes in high demand (8 lanes), is a brute to use on mobile or laptop, and I'm not sure you can cancel on-line or if you're supposed to call in to cancel (leading to a lot of scooping up of lanes when they're open at 84hrs in advance, and then some people then don't use them) -the eSports gaming room's offerings were mostly just a few free 1st person shooters and then Mario Cart. There were no sports games, racing games, or much of anything--AND, you had to bring or create your own login to even try the shooter games. Question: What's the point of coming to a public space to play an online game that you already have an account for? (I guess I naively assumed it would provide an opportunity to try out a lot of multi-player games with a guest account or such.)

April 2022 updates: -lap lanes will reportedly shift to reservations for the mornings but first-come-first-serve for the afternoons/evenings (not fully confirmed on the details, so maybe call them if you have questions). -Something’s up with the eSports room: it’s closed and doesn’t show any reservations...

WARNING TO PARENTS WITH INFANTS: My wife and I have been exercising here for several years, and apart from terrible communication about their pool's hours and availability, we've loved our experience. Last fall we had our first child and about 4 months ago started bringing her to the gym. We have busy lives and can only exercise between 3pm and 6pm.

For months I would have my daughter in her carrier next to me as I lifted weights or ran on a treadmill. Staff and other folks would laugh and tell me how great it was to see me exercising with her. The other day my wife was next to a wall stretching, and our daughter was between her and the wall (out of everyone's way and safe). When I had walked away from my wife a staff member went and talked to her. I saw this and approached to ask what was going on and the staff member quickly retreated without talking to me. They told my wife that babies weren't allowed to be on the floor.

The next day I was taking my daughter with me, in her carrier, to the weight room and I was stopped by staff who said she wasn't allowed in there. They told me she could only really be in the entry area, or the daycare (which doesn't even open until 5, and she's still too young). One staff member said "we talked to you about this yesterday" which really made my blood boil, because no, they talked to my wife and only told her babies couldn't be on the floor.

They left our family with no ability to exercise here. We cannot start exercising at 5pm when the daycare opens, but that would be our only option (if the daycare schedule isn't randomly changed that week).

Do not exercise here if you have a young family. We felt targeted and...