“Take your marks, go!” That’s what we’re hoping to hear in the next few weeks after the Natatorium’s scoreboard broke this summer, leaving the Girls Varsity Swim and Dive team unable to host any events this season.
This scoreboard is 15 years old and original to the Boll Center. Sometime last week, Principal Moussa Hamka was informed that the connectors and electrical components behind the scoreboard were no longer operational, and the cost of a new scoreboard is a minimum of $80,000.The first step is to find the parts that need to be replaced so the board can at least be temporarily operational.“We are looking for a long term solution to ensure that we have the board we need functioning properly,” Hamka said. “Without the fear of failure moving forward. I’m hoping in the next week or two that these parts will arrive.”
Coming up with the exact reason for the problem isn’t always easy, but one thing that Hamka was told is that the components of the board had corroded.“We’ve been struggling with the air handler unit that is on the roof for the last four or five years,” Hamka said.
The district has been trying to fix and remedy the situation, but there has been excessive humidity because that unit isn’t functioning properly. One of the side effects of excess humidity is corrosion.“Corrosion is especially bad when there’s chlorine and whatnot in the air,” Hamka said. “We believe one of the factors that led to this premature failure is the air handler leads.”
As far as events and meets, the team was supposed to host the Wayne County next Saturday, depending on the state of the scoreboard. This meet will determine if the team hosts the MAC Red Championship. Head coach of the Girls Swim and Dive team John Fodell said he feels like having a working scoreboard is very important and crucial to the team.“It’s tough when you host meets,” Fodell said.“Certainly it varies based upon the scoreboard, from pacing in longer events to splits to being able to know exactly how they did right away is definitely a huge advantage.”Fodell said he is hoping that South will be able to host MAC Red, but it is difficult to predict if the board will be ready.“I don’t know if or when this will be fixed,” Fodell said. “I’m hoping as soon as possible, even with what I would call a slight bandaid. This board is old and kind of on its last legs.”
The team is still practicing normally and waiting patiently for good news. Lydia Johnson ’26 said she is very excited for the scoreboard to be up and running soon.“Individually, we still practice the same, just without seeing our times,” Johnson said. “But everybody on the team is frustrated because we like to see our places and times after every event.”
