About ASPA

Our History

The swimming pools at Lincoln Park and at Franklin Park in Alameda, Calif., were built in the mid 1950s. While the land was leased from the city, no city money or taxes were used for construction of the pools or their programs. The inspiration and funds to build the pools were provided by Frank Weeden and Fred Stolte of Stolte Inc., with help from some of their close friends and associates. 

Weeden maintained that since Alameda is an island, all children should learn to swim. It was a practical matter of public safety as well as providing a healthy activity for the people of Alameda. The primary purpose was for the benefit of children first, and as an added feature, for their families and the swimming enthusiasts in the city. All this provided, on a per household cost, at a reasonable cost or free, depending on the program. 

The Alameda Swimming Pool Association (ASPA), a nonprofit entity, was subsequently formed to oversee the operation and maintenance of the two pool sites and their programs. The city has been the beneficiary of this volunteer-run, nonprofit organization, which has managed the pools since their construction. The ASPA has provided unique services -- family and lap swimming, competitive and non-competitive age group swimming and free kindergarten swim -- to the city of Alameda and community, with an unparalleled record of community service for 60+ years. The ASPA has approximately 600 members.

Within ASPA, there are trustees, board members and committees, including maintenance, lifeguarding, membership, technology, swimming programs, pool enforcement and governance. The board and committee members are all volunteers, who do not receive payment for their time or services.  Learn more about how to become a volunteer. 

The founding concept of the boards was to provide continuity and stability over time as well as experience and knowledge in the organization where the members, instructors, etc. are volunteers whose periods of interest and service typically coincides with the ages and interests of their children. Each pool has historically had its own board of directors to monitor and handle the day-to-day pool operations. The ASPA carries full primary insurance and worker’s compensation and does not rely on USA Swimming or the city of Alameda as insurance providers.

Our Mission

1. The overall focus of the ASPA is to provide safe, instructional swimming activity for children of all ages. Children come first. 

2. A secondary aim is to provide opportunity for all households in Alameda to have access to water activities. 

3. The third priority is to provide lap swimming time for aquatic and health enthusiasts for a variety of reasons. 

Additionally, ASPA provides pool time to Alameda's emergency responders to improve their swimming skills, which benefits the entire community, and for the Alameda Gators Swim Team to use its facilities.