The Reston Association is relaxing COVID-related pool restrictions starting Memorial Day weekend.

Starting Friday, May 28, RA pools will return to their full pre-COVID capacity, RA spokesperson Mike Leone told Reston Now in an email.

This comes as the state and the county will also completely lift capacity restrictions for outdoor pools from May 28.

However, RA plans to honor reservations made for Memorial Day weekend because it had instituted a reservation system for that time before the county and state announcements.

“Our priority will be to honor all members who have made reservations until May 31,” Leone said in an email. “If there is capacity available in a pool after the arrival of the members who have reserved, those who do not have a reservation will be allowed to use the pool until it reaches the capacity limits.”

From June 1, the majority of RA Pool facilities will open without reservation.

Due to popular demand, however, RA will continue to have reservations for swimming and aquatic fitness at certain locations throughout the summer. If space is available, walk-ins will be allowed.

Physical and social distancing will also no longer be applied from June 1, but RA asks residents “to be attentive to their personal space”.

RA will also always require masks inside its facilities, whether the resident is fully vaccinated or not. Masks are not required, however, when clients are in the water, eating, drinking, and exercising, or for people with a medical exception.

Virginia and Fairfax County no longer require masks in most settings for those who are fully immunized.

Five other RA pools opens on Saturday (May 29), joining the North Shore and Ridge Height heated pools, both of which opened on May 15. Then the rest of the RA pools will open for the season on June 12.

Swimming pool season begins as debate intensifies over the possible “reuse” or, even, the closure of a number of swimming pools.

Last week, RA staff recommended that the Golf Course Island, Newbridge, Tall Oaks and Shadowood pools be “seriously considered for reuse” due to their low usage. RA CEO Hank Lynch is expected to discuss his budget recommendations in more detail at the board meeting Thursday (May 27).

A recent year-long assessment by RA’s Recreational Facilities Working Group found that a number of decades-old facilities, including some swimming pools, are in need of a considerable amount of work and maintenance. repairs.

RA recently renovated several of these pools, including an ongoing $ 3.5 million facelift for Lake Thoreau and a resurfacing of the Glade Pool slide.

Tall Oaks and Shadowood are both currently closed due to ongoing renovations.

Photo courtesy of Reston Association