Whitney Lloyd and Jennifer Sutherlin became friends over 20 years ago, and as moms, saw the need for a year-round state-of-the-art swim school in NW Arkansas. Whitney had also come from a swimming family, and had been a swimmer throughout high school. Between them, they have 5 children and wanted them and all the kids in that area to grow up as confident swimmers with a true love of water and outdoors.

So they started planning Arkansas Swim Academy (ASA), and ran into some typical yet significant roadblocks along the way. Many people would quit, but not them. They forged through issues with properties, sites, design, delays… you name it, and just kept moving forward, determined to reach their goal.

They wanted not only to build a pool, but to build an entire swimming experience for their patrons. Along the way, they consulted with fellow USSSA (United States Swim School Association) members about the potential pitfalls and the triumphs, and started working with industry leader Andy Broido of Swim Consultants to make sure that their curriculum and their staff were also state-of-the-art. When they were getting a bad feeling that the quality of the water might not live up to the rest of their facility, they reached out to CES. We were able to put together an optimum package of equipment, service, and local support, that fit within their existing budget, but that provided operational improvements in many areas.

Then came the Pandemic. Undeterred by the uncertainty of the times, they forged ahead… and we are proud to announce that the swim school recently opened its doors for swimming, and represents one of the most modern facilities around anywhere. 

The pool provides the safest most up-to-date standards meeting or exceeding the local codes AND the national Model Aquatic Health Code guidelines. Here are just a few highlights:

• Rapid 2-hour filtration cycle to assure optimum water quality 24/7/365, regardless of bather load
• Direct control of chemical parameters with their BECSys5 control system, preventing ANY lapses that could cause water quality issues
• 24/7 CES Monitoring of all major parameters, with a powerful alert notification system that detects and helps resolve issues well before they become issues
• Permanent Media, drinking water-grade filtration with AFM® Activated Glass Media made from recycled glass through a patented process 
• Simple single-level backwashing process with AFM®, using a fraction of the pool water of traditional sand filters
• Full Flow, Powerful Sentry UV (ultraviolet) treatment system to instantaneously inactivate 99.9% of all undesirable organisms and odors in a single pass
• All-in-one Pulsar Chemical Feed system provides all the minerals for balanced pool water, while self shocking to help prevent skin and eye irritation
• Direct control of pool pump with CES MCC-VFD to provide maximum energy efficiency during peak and non-peak hours
• CES 24/7 direct control of water level with water consumption monitoring to help conserve natural resources
• ADA compliant handicap lift to comply with codes and to help the pool be accessible to ALL water lovers
• Dehumidification system to provide direct control of air temperature, and relative humidity for optimum indoor air conditions
• Dual-redundant high efficiency Lochinvar heating systems to provide optimum learn to swim temperatures for all

As you can see, Whitney and Jennifer spared no expense when it came to providing the safest and most comfortable environment for their cherished patrons… all while helping conserve the environment and provide the lowest possible carbon footprint for the project. 

Please let us know if you need any additional information, and please help us congratulate the entire ASA team for the courage and drive to forge through permitting and construction issues and Pandemic alike, and create a leading edge Learn-to-Swim facility that will help thousands foster a love of water, while helping save countless lives in years to come. 

Job well done!