On a cold January Saturday, the Denver Squid, the city’s long-running queer masters swim team, pulled on caps and goggles and dropped into the water at Abraham Lincoln High School. It is a familiar ritual, but lately it comes with a knot in the stomach. Following a December policy change by Denver Parks and Recreation, the team lost most of its lane rentals at the recreation center and now swims together just once a week. For athletes gearing up for the Gay Games this summer, that cut in pool time has turned training into a logistical scramble and reignited questions about who really gets access to public facilities.
City Says Crowded Pools Come First
John Martinez, deputy executive director of Denver Parks and Recreation, told Denverite the department ended lane rentals in December because pools are among its most popular resources, and private groups are not a priority. Martinez said the department is moving away from one-off facility rentals and toward long-term partnership agreements that clearly benefit the city. He pointed to groups such as Vive Wellness as the kind of arrangement Parks and Rec wants to encourage.
According to the team, Parks and Rec has said it is still considering future options for Squid. So far, though, the department has declined the club’s proposals to pay for hours outside normal operations, shift to quieter recreation centers, or fold the team into the system as an official city program.
From Congress Park Roots to a New Home in Lakewood
Denver Squid traces its origins to the early 1990s, when queer swimmers met during public lap swim at the Congress Park pool to prepare for the Gay Games. The group now describes itself as an inclusive 501(c)(3) masters club. With Denver lane time suddenly scarce, its primary training hub has migrated west.
According to Denver Squid, the team’s main practices have shifted to the Carmody Recreation Center in Lakewood while it searches for a reliable pool space. The City of Lakewood notes that Carmody offers both 50-meter and 25-yard lap lanes and rents lanes to outside groups, making it a practical, if farther, base for many Squid swimmers.
Gay Games Countdown, With Less Water Time
Squid members say the timing could hardly be worse. The team is deep into preparations for the Gay Games this summer, and losing weekday access has made it harder for competitive swimmers to log the mileage they say they need.
Longtime member John Hayden told Denverite the decision feels “at least unequal treatment and at worst discrimination.” Even so, new swimmers keep showing up to the team’s remaining weekend sessions, squeezing into the few lanes the group still controls.
Team leaders say they will keep pressing Denver Parks and Recreation for a lasting fix, even as they expand practices outside city limits and lean on a growing roster of allies. For now, the squad is trying to stay focused on the same thing it has trained for since the 1990s: getting to the Gay Games, one increasingly hard-fought lap at a time.
