Roosevelt Swim Center — Local services in Rapid City

Great facility with a very nice outdoor pool. We visited because of the state swim meet and I want to say that I appreciate how much work went into the state meet. This review is about the people working at the front desk of the aquatic center or the "facility manager" as one of the women identified herself to my son while she was yelling at him. I understand that keeping an adjacent pool open while running a very large swim meet can be stressful but it is no reason to treat people with utter disrespect. The first issue occurred when my son was inside warming up for a race. The designated lanes were full and some swimmers asked if they could use a lane that was open. The lifeguard said that it was ok. As my son and his friend went to enter the water, a woman came over and started yelling at them for being in the wrong lane. My son tried to explain that the lifeguard said that it was ok but she just yelled at him that she was the facility manager. 1-I understand that they were supposed to be in their designated lanes and were entering a lane that was not reserved for them. 2-they asked permission from the person they thought was the authority on deck. 3-yelling was unwarranted. 4-it might be better to address the issue with your staff member so that THEY know not to give kids permission to use another lane. The second reason for my review is the result of a weather delay on the final day of the meet. They were forced to stop a race because of a very close lightning strike and quickly ushered us inside the building. We came in and sat down with our backs to the wall sitting criss-cross trying to stay out of the way as multiple families lined the hall to wait out the weather. Shortly after sitting down a woman (the one who earlier identified herself as the facility manager to my son) came over and began yelling at us to move down and keep the walk way clear. 1-it was clear as we were doing all we could to stay out of the way. 2-we quickly moved down to the area she instructed us to. 3-most of the people she was yelling at were children. 4. yelling was completely unwarranted-at NO point were we asked to moved-simply yelled at-there is a right way and a wrong way to talk to people and this was completely inappropriate. I had zero problem moving but I certainly could have been talked to with even an ounce of respect. My children and I did nothing to deserve the treatment we received. About 10 minutes later the other woman working at the front desk came over and yelled at us to move-told us to keep the area clear-WE HAD NOT MOVED from the places that the other lady instructed us to move to. I informed the woman of this and she replied with, So-and-so (didn't catch the name as I was pretty pissed by this time) is going to come back and yell at you again (notice that she acknowledges that the 1st woman WAS YELLING at us). This whole situation was the most disrespectful treatment I have ever received at a place of business and was witnessed by 4 other adults from our team. When I am back in this area you better believe I will stay far away from this pool as the people in charge can only be described as power...

Feeling very insulted, humiliated, and angered by the swim center staff. My family and I were visiting the swim center for family swim night as we have done off and on for several years. We BROUGHT the same floaties that our kids have used for the past 5 years, at least.

As we were trying to wrangle the kids and get our stuff to leave. I notice two female lifeguards surrounding my family and I in the locker room. The were hovering around us, whispering to each other, and pointing at us. Being a Marine, this made me a little uneasy and alerted me that something was going on. I continue to pack up our stuff while trying to ignore them. As we attempted to walk out of the locker room, both lifeguards block of the exits and one approached us and accused us of stealing kids floaties from the swim center not once or twice but several times as my wife and I try to explain to her she was wrong. She even fabricated a story stating that she saw another lifeguard give them to us.

By the third time of falsely being called a thief, I was hot. My wife, on the other hand, knew that the swim center marked their floaties and tried telling the girl to look at our floaties to see that they aren't marked. She refused to do so and continued to call us thieves. She was even at the point where it appeared she was going to reach inside our bag and take OUR floaties. She said that she would go get her supervisor if I didn't not lower my tone a which point I lowered my tone and agreed that she should go get her supervisor. Her supervisor must have known that their floaties were marked because she spent about 3 seconds looking them over before she realized they did not belong to the swim center.

We never received an apology for the way things transpired. I would like to know why this situation was handled in this manner. Why did the supervisor not know what was going on in the locker room. Why?

I am an employed engineer in Rapid City. My wife has a good job at a respectable company in town. I have lived here almost my entire life other than 5 years I served in the Marine Corps. We both grew up here and graduated high school in Rapid City. I graduated college at SDSMT. We can afford floaties for our kids to swim and ALREADY HAVE. I don't know what I am looking for out of this. I just don't want this to happen to someone else in the future. The situation could and should have been handled...

We just tried the swim center tonight. The locker room and showers we're very clean and comfortable. The lockers are a royal PAIN. Key was sticking in the lock. Had to use multiple quarters to get one locker to work. The swimming pool was GREAT. The hot tub is nice. We do wish the Jets would be up higher on the back but the temperature was perfect. The kids area is terrific and the life guards are very diligent. The water slide is perfectly twisted 😊. Really appreciate the walking area for exercise. I was able to exercise for an hour without any pain in my back. It was just unbelievably amazing how many laps I was able to do without pain. The steam spa was wonderful. It helps get the clorine off of your skin just before you take your shower. We had a wonderful time there and we recommend it to others. We just need to find a locker that works well and stick...