Waldorf’s Smallwood Village Swim Club Fighting To Stay Open After 50 Years

WALDORF, Md. — Every summer, the sounds are familiar at Smallwood Village Swim Club — children laughing as they jump into the pool, lifeguards blowing their whistles, grandparents relaxing in the shade and neighbors catching up while another generation makes memories in the water.

For more than 50 years, Smallwood Village Swim Club has been part of summer for generations of Southern Maryland families. Parents who learned to swim there returned years later to watch their own children take those same first strokes. Teenagers earned their first summer jobs as lifeguards and snack bar staff, while neighbors became lifelong friends.

Now, that tradition is at risk. The nonprofit swim club has launched an emergency fundraising campaign after lower-than-expected membership and unexpected equipment failures left its future uncertain. Organizers say they must determine within days whether the club can remain open if enough financial support is not raised.

The pool, which was completely relined in 2023, has evolved significantly in recent years. Once a private neighborhood swim club, it now welcomes the broader community through public swim days, birthday parties, homeschool meetups, day camps and expanded swim lesson programs.

Even so, membership remains the club’s foundation. As a nonprofit, the club is unable to operate as a fully public pool — the majority of its support must come from memberships, which cover the pool’s overhead costs all 12 months of the year. Non-members can still enjoy the facility through day passes, available for $15 per person or $ 45 for a family of six.

The pool’s season runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day, and the club’s popular movie nights are open to the public, featuring night swimming with the pool staying open until 10 p.m.

Beyond open swim, the club offers private and group swim lessons, the Smallwood Marlins swim team and a variety of fitness programs, including group adult swim lessons offered in recent seasons. Families can also enjoy shaded picnic areas, grills, sand volleyball, water basketball, cornhole, soccer nets, badminton and newly converted pickleball courts, making it easy to spend an entire summer day together.

The swim club has also left its mark on the community in unexpected ways. Before Galazio Restaurant became a Southern Maryland favorite, the Gressis family’s first food operation served swimmers from the Smallwood Village Swim Club snack bar, which the family ran for four years — showing how local spots like the pool help local families grow in ways big and small.

According to organizers, this year’s financial challenges stem from several factors. An early Memorial Day and weather-related school calendar changes delayed the club’s normal membership season, leaving memberships down by about 40 families. At the same time, several unexpected equipment and operational failures depleted the club’s emergency funds.

Club leaders estimate about $100,000 is needed to repair and replace critical equipment and secure the pool’s future.

A longtime member has pledged a matching donation to help reach that goal. Organizers said every $2,500 raised by the community within the campaign’s first seven days unlocks an additional $2,500 in matching funds, up to a predetermined amount.

For supporters, the stakes reach beyond a single summer. The coming days will determine whether the gates open again for the swim lessons, first jobs, swim meets and long afternoons that have defined the pool since 1971 — or whether this season is its last.

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