When swimmers dive into the clear, blue waters of a rec pool for fun in the sun, laps of a workout or their very first swim lesson, they probably aren’t too focused on the pool deck. Yet, none of their recreation would be possible without the products and innovations outside of the water.
Pool deck equipment can take many forms. Some equipment pieces focus on safety and accessibility, while others are all about entertainment and recreation. At Rogue Credit Union Community Complex (Rogue X) and at Columbine West Park and Pool Foothills Park and Rec District, the entertainment features on the pool decks take center stage. Meanwhile, at the Georgina Multi-Use Rec Complex, the pool deck focuses more on usability and safety.
Kevin Post, CEO of Counsilman-Hunsaker, understands the deck is just as important as the pool itself. “When we talk about a pool and having a fun recreation experience,” he says, “the deck is just as important.”
Rich Rosenthal, parks, recreation and facilities director with the city of Medford, Ore., agrees. No matter the facility, he says, “A lot of parents don’t go in the water with their kids, so they need excellent sight lines, comfortable seating and enough deck space that they aren’t crammed together.”
Architects and facility operators at Rogue X, Columbine West Park and Pool and Georgina Multi-Use Rec Complex broke down how a properly designed and outfitted pool deck can take a user’s experience to the next level.
Photos by Michael D. Davis courtesy of Aquatic Design Group
ROGUE X
There’s more than one way to make a splash at the Rogue Credit Union Community Complex. The state-of-the-art aquatics facility opened in January 2024, and it features waterslides, splash pads, a lazy river and play structures. Before Medford families were welcomed into the facility, the team at Perkins&Will was busy outfitting the facility with its key components.
“The Rogue Community Complex was a much-needed aquatics amenity in the community. The idea first came to be about 25 years ago,” says Mira Theisen, associate principal at Perkins&Will.
Rosenthal can attest to the longtime dream harbored by the city and its residents. “The city of Medford had acute deficiencies of recreation facilities and aquatics spaces. This facility was hugely thrilling, not only for the staff but for the community,” he says. “We went from having only one public, seasonal pool to the best aquatics facility in the state and the region. We went from zeroes to heroes very quickly.”
The most popular pieces of equipment drawing families and recreational swimmers to Rogue X is undoubtedly the slides. “They are indoor/outdoor slides,” Theisen explains. “One is a twisting flume slide and the other is a speed slide.”
“The slides are a huge draw, a hugely popular amenity for recreational swim sessions on a daily basis. It is a magnet for the facility,” adds Rosenthal. “They’re the biggest and best available in the region.”
Medford went from annual pool visitation numbers hovering around 12,000 to nearly 10 times that amount visiting Rogue X in 2024. But not everyone comes for the slides. Rogue X also boasts a 13-lane competition pool, a water basketball area, a kids’ play structure, an outdoor splash pad and pool deck space large enough to accommodate roughly 300 users.
“There’s a lot of generous deck space around the leisure pool,” says Theisen. “We try to make decks as generous as possible to allow free movement of swim teams and spectators. We paid particular attention to where the locker room entrances onto the deck are located so that it doesn’t interfere with spectators walking in.”
As a facility that caters largely to families, having a comfortable amount of deck space was paramount. Rosenthal knows that many of the adults coming into Rogue X aren’t using the pool themselves, but rather escorting children and spending time on the pool deck while the kids use other equipment. That said, Theisen notes, “We made the conscious choice not to introduce any kind of fenced-off or gated-off picnic area.”
In an ongoing effort to balance aquatic recreation and pool deck fun, there were always going to be sacrifices. Even without that picnic area, Thiesen says that “families with little kids have plenty of deck space by the zero-depth entry area. There are plenty of deck chairs that are accommodated in that area.”
Having just completed the first year of operation, the team at Rogue X isn’t spending too much time looking to the future just yet, but there are always products and innovations on the wish list. Says Rosenthal, “I wish we could have gotten the Olympic-size pool, and I wish we could have had a third or fourth slide.”
Nevertheless, families are flocking to Rogue X to enjoy all the amenities and fun pool deck equipment offered at the state-of-the-art location. “It’s quite fun,” Rosenthal says. “It’s like a toy we were given. It’s a really cool, huge toy to play with and to use and deploy.” 
Photo courtesy of Counsilman-Hunsaker
Columbine West Park and Pool
On the other side of the Rocky Mountains, Columbine West Park and Pool in Littleton, Co., took a very different approach to the pool deck. Columbine is another Perkins&Will project, but it was a renovation rather than a new build. The outdoor pool serves a client base similar to that of Rogue X: mostly families and recreational swimmers.
“At recreational facilities, people spend about half the time on the deck versus in the pool,” says Counsilman-Hunsaker’s Post. “You can ask people when they are leaving the facility with dry hair ‘Why were you here?’ and they’ll say ‘Oh, I was just here to hang out on the deck.’ ”
According to Theisen, an emphasis on deck time was intentional. “At Columbine, there was a real emphasis on adding more shade,” she says. “We did really deep overhangs on the building to allow more shade for people.”
The team at Columbine also wanted rentable cabanas and updated picnic shelters on the pool deck to use as an additional revenue stream and add even more shade for patrons.
“The biggest thing that is becoming more common is shade. In the ’90s, we would have built a big sunning berm, trying to get all the sun we can,” says Post. “Now, if you want to spend the day outside, you’ll want more shade.”
Beyond shade and lounging areas, Columbine also invested in a kids’ play structure, a jump structure, a drop slide, a volleyball net, a water basketball hoop and, “To jazz up the lap pool, we put in floating features that anchor to the bottom of the pool, and they are thematic to the location,” Theisen says.
Post likewise shares excitedly about the in-water floating features. “They are foam figurines. They can be customized however you want. It is a hard plastic shell that is UV-protected. They float and are tethered to the bottom of the pool with a chain,” he says. “It’s self-managing because once too many kids get on it, it starts to sink.
“You could also do them as a lily pad walk, and line them up in a row. Users can try to cross them, as an activity. You can also install those floatables over lane lines, so it’s easy to take them out and do lap swimming in the same area. It makes the space flexible.”
The water volleyball and water basketball equipment at Columbine are popular with the teenage demographic, which Post reports is notoriously hard to cater to. He says that lounge areas are equally important to teens who have outgrown kids’ play structures and may want to stay out of the water altogether.
“Those areas of deck lounging are really important,” he says. “Shade usually comes at a premium. You’ll see basic shade canopies, but also rentable cabanas.”
Photo courtesy of Perkins&Will
Georgina Multi-Use Rec Complex
While the pool deck is an amenity of utmost importance at Rogue X and Columbine, it plays a very different role at the Georgina Multi-Use Rec Complex in Georgina, Ontario.
“They desired a community use service model and did not want to include diving boards or slides that were specific to a user group,” says Phil Fenech, a principal architect at Perkins&Will who has lots of experience working with interior aquatics centers throughout Canada.
The differing needs of the clientele at Georgina Multi-Use Rec Complex mean that despite serving as a recreation facility, there aren’t any of the water basketball, waterslides or play structures that are hallmarks of other rec-centric facilities.
Fenech says he’s actually observed a trend away from slides and other amenities due to the risk and added staff supervision. “Some municipalities support diving boards if they have a strong diving team or club, but typically it has not been a high priority,” he explains. “The one item that has some interest is climbing walls on the side walls of the pool. It provides a challenge for the younger demographic without taking up a lot of deck or tank space.”
With a focus on swim lessons, the Georgina Multi-Use Rec Complex has a pool deck that prioritizes safety. Multiple catwalks provide superior sightlines for both parents and lifeguards, and minimal seating or on-deck activities mean swimmers and staff have ample room to move about.
Whether facilities are newly built or resourcefully renovated, lots of eyes are on the pool deck. From parents who need a spot to watch their kids, to sunbathers – or shade-seekers — who want a relaxing day by the water, providing innovative and cutting-edge pool deck equipment is essential in modern aquatics facility design.
“The overall challenge is to meet the operator’s desires for maximum deck space, but within the limits of the budget,” says Fenech. “To make it easier, we ask the operators to be clear on their expected swim class and swim team sizes. This helps us plan the deck area for swimmer staging or sitting areas.”
Moving forward, Post knows that new recreational facilities designing their pool decks should look toward the private club space. Those, he says, are the trendsetters.
“The high-end resort feel, lounging, catering and TVs are going to start making their way into municipal pools,” Post says. “Adult leisure areas where there is quiet space and it’s tranquil. I also think that the therapeutic aspect is becoming bigger, like adding wellness pieces to the community pool.”
Facilities that can pull off a quality pool deck — and overall facility— have seen tangible gains from attention to detail. Says Rosenthal, “These types of facilities create markets in a way that is hard to anticipate and is hard to quantify. Rogue X has expanded the aquatics clientele, not only within the community but as a regional attraction.”
