Cranbury Swim Club Helps Residents Beat the Heat

Written by Megan Malloy

In the midst of a crushing heat wave, the Cranbury Swim Club is back for another summer. 

Located off Ancil Davidson Road, the Cranbury Swim Club has been a fixture of the community for over 50 years. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, about 160 families flock to the pools. 

This summer, the Swim Club has stacked their schedule with outdoor family movies and parties in the pavilion, which can be rented out by members for a $50 fee. After working up an appetite swimming, members can enjoy snacks from the Cranbury Bagel Bar, or bring their own barbeque fixings to grill on-site. The Club is also BYOB for parents who are looking to relax even more. 

The Cranbury Swim Club holds formal swimming classes and clinics for pre-school kids, though many swim lessons happen informally between younger members and the lifeguards. Most of the lifeguards, who are in high school and college, are members themselves and know the kids personally, according to board member Matt Curran. 

"When we first moved here, the first thing we did was join the pool," said Curran of his family. The Club draws residents primarily from Cranbury, and surrounding towns like East Windsor, Hightstown, South Brunswick, Robbinsville, and Monroe. 

The Club is run by a board of six, and the board is actively looking for more members, according to Curran. A number banners advertising local businesses hang around the perimeter of the pool, and the board is hoping that they will bring in both business for the sponsors, as well as additional revenue for the Swim Club. 

The pools have undergone some sprucing up over the past couple summers and Curran is hoping to see even more upgrades. In addition to acid washing the dive, main, and baby pools, he is hoping they will be able to resurface the pools to get them shining "diamond-bright." Next summer, the Club is hoping to purchase new lounge chairs and do some re-landscaping of the property.

Now that it is nearing the end of July, the Club’s swim team and diving team--which is currently undefeated--are gearing up for championships. The teams involve around 75 kids in total, and compete with teams from surrounding towns. But when the kids are not training in the pool, two summer camps, Kids Cottage and the Cranbury Recreation camps, come daily to the Club for a dip. 

"These are the same people from Little League, football, dance class," said Matt Curran of the Club’s members. "It's a continuation of the community. The pool adds to the nostalgia piece of Cranbury and the place of fantasy that Cranbury is."