Upper Peninsula Aquatics Center Initiative

08/26/2026

08/26/2026

Thanks My UP Now and Rebecca Bartelme - My UP Mornings for having us on!!

MARQUETTE COUNTY, Mich. (WBUP/WJMN) — A group of volunteers are exploring the idea of a year-round community aquatics center in Marquette County that would serve the whole U.P. It’s called

08/23/2026

If a pool opened here tomorrow, what would you use it for?

We ask because the answer is different for everyone. We’d love to hear what your aquatics needs are—you can find our Community Needs Survey at upaquatics.org or on our profile.

We’re a group of volunteers exploring what a new aquatics facility could mean for Marquette County. Building the Upper Peninsula’s first 50-meter pool would create space for everybody’s needs, all at the same time.

Sources: CDC, Swimming and Your Health. Arthritis Foundation aquatic exercise guidance. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Exercise During Pregnancy. Mayo Clinic on aquatic exercise. Harvard Health Publishing. Brenner et al., 2009, and the American Academy of Pediatrics Prevention of Drowning. Swim lessons are one layer of drowning prevention—supervision and barriers matter too.

08/18/2026

"What would get you in the water more often?"

We're a group of local swimmers, parents, coaches, and neighbors who've been asking ourselves that. We think it's a question worth asking out loud: could a year-round community aquatics center work here in Marquette County?

An open lap lane, morning to night. A first swim lesson for kids, and for adults who never got the chance to learn. A gentler way to move for people recovering from injury. Cannonballs in January.

Our existing pools do a lot for this community. We think there's room for more — enough water for lessons, lap swim, and practice all at once, instead of taking turns.

Nothing has been decided. We don't have a building, a site, or a timeline, and we're not raising funds. Step 1 is a Community Needs Survey, which we launched today. It takes under ten minutes, and you don't need to swim to have an opinion.

Help shape this conversation: upaquatics.org. And please spread the word!

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