Liberty’s Natatorium Officially Opens for Competition

The Liberty Natatorium located on the Liberty Mountain below the LU monogram is the new home to the Flames swimming and diving teams.

Its ceremonial grand opening on Friday Jan. 26 included a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a full meet immediately following.

The necessity for a new facility became increasingly evident as the program continued to expand and elevate, thanks to eight years under head coach Jake Shellenberger. Their facility before was a basic six-lane, 25-yard pool that was built in 2003 in the LaHaye Recreation and Fitness Center.

When the project began its development stages approximately a year and a half ago, Brad Butler, the planning coordinator for Planning and Construction, said that those involved, including President Jerry Falwell, took to heart a phrase that Falwell’s father and Liberty’s founder Jerry Falwell Sr. often proclaimed, “If it’s Christian, it ought to be better.”

Coach Shellenberger said he was thoroughly impressed by the facility.

“Channeling my best inner Lou Gehrig: ‘Today I consider myself the luckiest coach on the face of the earth,’” Coach Shellenberger said. “Many coaches dream of one day being involved in this process, and what a blessing it is to be here at Liberty and be a part of that process.”

The pool features nine lanes rather than the usual eight, which will now give the option of the swimmers using 20 lanes for shorter courses that would run horizontally across the pool, a feature that Shellenberger told the News & Advance he is thoroughly excited for.

With a seating capacity of 1,400 in a three-sided bowl format, the venue is a welcome place for spectators both from the student body and the Lynchburg area to cheer on the competitions.

Butler added that his favorite feature is undoubtedly the Paddock Evacuator push/pull, in-gutter system, which is the first of its kind in the nation.

“It eliminates a lot of the chlorine that evaporates off of the pool before it gets too far into the air, so now, you won’t have that burning eyes and burning throat sensation that you have at a lot of indoor pools,” Butler said.

Looking toward the future, Coach Shellenberger told the Liberty News Service that he looks forward to continuing to elevate the program’s performance, and he will not let the “bells and whistles” distract the team from their pursuit of success.

“We will not let the comforts of a new facility lull us into the shadows of mediocrity,” Shellenberger said.

Butler recognizes the wealth of recruitment potential that the natatorium has brought the program, as the latest and greatest is always an eye-catching incentive to prospective student-athletes.

“We’ll be attracting students from all across the United States who otherwise would never step foot onto Liberty University’s campus, and they’re going to see this beautiful arena and the beautiful campus, and we think this is going to be a tremendous recruiting tool,” Butler said.