The Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center is an aquatic facility in

Federal Way Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, United States and part of the Seattle metropolitan area. One of the most recently incorporated cities in the county, its population was 101,030 at the 2020 census. Federal Way is the 10th most p ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

constructed for the

1990 Goodwill Games The 1990 Goodwill Games was the second edition of the international multi-sport event created by Ted Turner, which was held between July 20 and August 5, 1990. Following an inaugural edition in Moscow, the second games took place in Seattle, Unit ...

. It has hosted US Olympic Diving Team Trials in 2000 and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

championships,

PAC-12 conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

championships,

USA Swimming USA Swimming is the national governing body for competitive swimming in the United States. It is charged with selecting the United States Olympic Swimming team and any other teams that officially represent the United States, as well as the overa ...

Winter National championships and

Speedo Speedo International Limited is an Australian-British distributor of Swimsuit, swimwear and swim-related accessories based in Nottingham, England. Founded in Sydney, Australia in 1914 by Alexander MacRae, a Scottish emigrant, the company is n ...

Junior National championships. Over 200 world records have been set at the center. The center is open to the public for open swim, pool exercise, family swim, lessons and lap swim.

History

On April 18, 1990 the facility opened for general use. It was constructed to host the 1990 Goodwill Games, which were held in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. Land for the center's development was donated by the Weyerhauser corporation and the facility was named after the company and its Chairman, George Weyerhaeuser. The Seattle Goodwill Games Committee provided $5 million and King County issued an $8.8 million bond to fund the facility.

Operations

Facilities

Swimming, synchronized swimming, diving and water polo are accommodated by the technical features of the center. It is one of only a few of its kind in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Center facilities include: * 9–10.5 feet deep Olympic-sized competition and training pool (competition natatorium) * 25 x 17 yard, 17 feet deep diving well equipped for

platform Platform may refer to: Arts * Platform, an arts centre at The Bridge, Easterhouse, Glasgow * ''Platform'' (1993 film), a 1993 Bollywood action film * ''Platform'' (2000 film), a 2000 film by Jia Zhangke * '' The Platform'' (2019 film) * Pla ...

and

springboard A springboard or diving board is used for diving and is a board that is itself a spring, i.e. a linear flex-spring, of the cantilever type. Springboards are commonly fixed by a hinge at one end (so they can be flipped up when not in use), and ...

diving (competition natatorium) * 25 x 15 yard recreational pool with

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

cove features and theme (recreation pool) * Banquet hall seating for 245 people banquet-style and 400 people theater-style (banquet hall) For the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the center started serving as a COVID-19 testing site open to the public in October 2020."Two more new COVID-19 testing sites in south King County"
''kingcounty.gov''. October 5, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2022. The center has an annual economic impact of $7.5 million USD.

Closures

During the COVID-19 pandemic the center temporarily closed for several months, from March to September 2020, to accommodate best practices and prevent the spread of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

.Race, Retta (July 25, 2020)
"Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center Closed Until September 21st"
''

SwimSwam ''SwimSwam'' is a swimming news organization covering competitive swimming along with diving, water polo and synchronized swimming. SwimSwam launched as a website in March 2012. History The news organization was founded by Braden Keith, Garrett ...

''. Retrieved November 22, 2021. In November 2021, non-essential personnel and spectators were officially allowed back in to attend sporting events."WIAA: Fans will be allowed at State Swim and Dive Championships"
''Eli Sports Network''. November 4, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021. From August 1 to mid-September 2022 and for the summer of 2023, the center is temporarily closed to use by the public for facility upgrades following its turning 30 years of age."Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center closes for upgrades"
''Federal Way Mirror''. August 3, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022.

Events held at the center

As well as the Goodwill Games for which the center was constructed, each year the facility hosts high profile events. These have included Olympic Team Trials in diving, NCAA championships, PAC-12 conference championships, USA Swimming senior events and Speedo Junior Nationals. One way the center serves the community that funded its construction, the residents of

King County King County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 12th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle ...

, as well as Washington state residents at large, is through hosting events such as high school state swimming and diving championships.Graham, Jeff (November 9, 2021)
"Bainbridge in contention for girls swim/dive state title"
''

Kitsap Sun The ''Kitsap Sun'' is a daily newspaper published in Bremerton, Washington, United States. It covers general news and serves Kitsap, Jefferson, and Mason counties on the west side of Puget Sound. History Publication of The ''Sun'' began i ...

''. Retrieved November 22, 2021.Drowley, Doug (November 13, 2021)
"Tahoma uses its depth to exceed expectations and win 4A state swimming and diving championship"
''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

''. Retrieved November 22, 2021."Prep swimming: Selah places in seven events in 2A-1A state finals"
''

Yakima Herald-Republic The ''Yakima Herald-Republic'' is a newspaper published in Yakima, Washington, and distributed throughout Yakima, Kittitas and Klickitat counties as well as northwest Benton County. History The ''Herald'' was founded in 1889. The paper was ...

''. November 13, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021.

Recognition

In December 2015 ''

Swimming World } ''Swimming World'' is a US-based quarterly swimming magazine that was first published in a magazine format as ''Junior Swimmer'' in January 1960. It concurrently runs online websites ''Swimming World Magazine'' and ''Swimming World News'' (kn ...

'' published a feature on King County Aquatic Center, highlighting eleven reasons it found the center to be "awesome" including playing a pivotal role in the swimming careers of notable

Olympians Olympian or Olympians may refer to: Religion * Twelve Olympians, the principal gods and goddesses in ancient Greek religion * Olympian spirits, spirits mentioned in books of ceremonial magic Fiction * ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'', fiction ...

Nathan Adrian Nathan Ghar-jun Adrian (born December 7, 1988) is an American competitive swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist who formerly held the American record in the long course 50-meter freestyle event. In his Olympic debut at the 2008 Summer ...

(the only swimmer to make the list from

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

Michael Phelps Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold me ...

Missy Franklin Melissa Franklin Johnson (née Franklin; born May 10, 1995) is an American former competitive swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist. She held the world record in the 200-meter backstroke (long course) from 2012 to 2019. As a member of the ...

Cullen Jones Cullen Andrew Jones (born February 29, 1984) is an American former competition swimmer and Olympic gold medalist who specializes in freestyle sprint events. As part of the American team, he holds the world record in the 4×100-meter freestyle ...

Simone Manuel ] Simone Ashley Manuel (born August 2, 1996) is an American professional Swimming (sport), swimmer specializing in Freestyle swimming, freestyle events. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, 2016 Rio Olympics, she won two gold and two silver medals: gold ...

, and

Haley Anderson Haley Danita Anderson (born November 20, 1991) is an American competitive Swimming (sport), swimmer who is an Olympic silver medalist. She placed second in the 10-kilometer open water event at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Personal Anderson's olde ...

.Marsteller, Jason; Kroll, Chuck (December 8, 2015)
"11 Reasons Seattle, King County Aquatic Center Are Awesome"
''

''. Retrieved November 22, 2021.

Gallery

Some of the venue facilities include the following. File:King County Aquatic Center main entrance - 23 November 2022.jpg, Main entrance and COVID-19 test site signage File:King County Aquatic Center bleacher area - 23 November 2022.jpg, Bleacher seating in the competition natatorium File:King County Aquatic Center competition pool and timing system - 23 November 2022.jpg, Competition pool with timing system File:King County Aquatic Center diving tower and well - 23 November 2022.jpg, Diving well and tower File:King County Aquatic Center media booth - 3 March 2023.jpg, Media booth

References

External links

Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center official website
{{Coord, 47.295366, -122.343318, display=title Sports venues in Seattle Swimming venues in Washington (state) Sports venues completed in 1990 Sports venues in Washington (state) 1990 establishments in Washington (state) Buildings and structures in King County, Washington Federal Way, Washington