Shore family donates funds for swim lesson scholarships

PORT ANGELES — The family of William Shore has donated $15,000 to Shore Aquatic Center for youth swim lessons, it announced last week.

The donation will allow the Port Angeles aquatic center to provide scholarships to teach more than 375 children how to swim.

“This generous and thoughtful gift from the Shore family will provide much-needed swim lessons to keep children safe in the water,” said Jessica Compton, pool aquatics manager.

William “Bill” Shore, for whom the pool was named, was a legendary swim coach who taught thousands of children how to swim in the 1950s, Executive Director Steve Burke has said.

“The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) research has determined the more swim lessons you teach, the less likely drownings are to occur,” Compton said in a Thursday news release.

The former William Shore Memorial Pool was renamed Shore Aquatic Center after a $20 million expansion and renovation.

The pool reopened Oct. 24 after a 17-month closure.

For information on Shore Aquatic Center, click on www.sacpa.org.