Ridgewood Pool
Volunteers are hoping to raise $4.2 million for improvements.
Last month, University of Wisconsin sophomore Beata Nelson became only the fourth female swimmer in U.S. history to break 50 seconds in the 100-yard backstroke. She was the leadoff swimmer in the Badgers’ 400-yard medley relay at the Big Ten Championships in Columbus, Ohio, and swam a 49.78 — missing the American record by a mere .09 seconds.
Nelson, a high school standout for the Verona Area/Mount Horeb co-op team, honed her skills at the Ridgewood Pool. Located in the Orchard Ridge neighborhood on Madison’s west side, the facility is 60 years old — and operating on borrowed time.
All the pool’s original structures remain but are long past their life expectancy. A structural failure is imminent, according to Scott Stewart, president of the Ed Nebbins Foundation, a charitable organization formed last fall to raise funds to renovate the existing pool into a 10-lane competition pool.
The all-volunteer association has set the ambitious goal of $4.2 million for the renovation and other improvements that will enhance accessibility for people with disabilities. Additionally, the foundation plans to partner with other nonprofit organizations to subsidize learn-to-swim programs for children who otherwise would not have access to a pool.
The foundation’s initial public “friendraiser” (as Stewart calls it) will be held at Nakoma Golf Club on April 7, beginning at 6 p.m. with a silent auction, followed by a live auction at 8 p.m. For more information, visit ednebbinsfoundation.org.
“I wish we would have started this three to five years ago,” says Stewart, whose two teenage children are competitive swimmers. “It’s going to take some time, but the sooner the better.”
As one of the original five members of the Madison All-City Pool League, Ridgewood is the reigning swim champion and has won 21 of the last 23 All-City swim meets since 1995. It is scheduled to host the All-City Dive Meet in 2019 and the All-City Swim Meet in 2020.
“Ridgewood helped propel the thriving swim community that exists in Madison,” says Cherie Olsen, a member of the pool for 35 years with her husband, Bruce. The couple’s daughters took swimming and diving lessons at Ridgewood, competed on the swim team and participated in the popular annual water ballet show for charity that continues to this day.
Denny Hanson, who managed the pool from 1969 to 1987 during his summers off from teaching chemistry at Madison Memorial High School, now lives in Coralville, Iowa. But he still has a soft spot for Ridgewood, too: “It’s the cohesive force of that neighborhood.”
