Ymca Of Woonsocket @ Harris School

This is a wonderful place for a child or adult to learn to swim. Children often move on to join the swim team as a competitive swimmer. Swim team coaches there are the best. Sad to say that the Woonsocket RI YMCA is now closed. It was an old building and I guess the kids were not worth the cost of repairs. The Lincoln Y was full, so they have to travel to Pawtucket. What happens to all the kids who walked there after school.

The most unprofessional guy I’ve ever met, “Jeff from aquatics” stated he was the manager here and he wrote my name on a document and signed my name, belittled me and they overcharged me for this month and I went in to figure it out I ended up canceling my membership and this so called “professional” man jeff told me he was charging me double price for the next two months this man should be fired and ashamed of himself. I ended up driving to the Lincoln ymca and they were absolutely phenomenal and kind and squared everything away for me.

After about 40 years, I finally found the best water exercise instructor at the Woonsocket YMCA. I was a member of Lincoln Y but transferred over to Woonsocket. The water temperature is perfect and the staff are caring and supportive. I have a walker so water exercise is very important to me.

I just wanted to say that this is the best swim program in the State. Ed Rotella and his staff are amazing and do a fantastic job at teaching kids to swim at all levels. They were a breathe of fresh air after my last experience at another local swim location where it was no adult supervision and kids trying to teach kids to swim and the end result was sad and nothing learned. Thank you so much YMCA and staff for your continued dedication to this program and helping my daughter learn to swim and to be a strong swimmer. Kevin Mohamed

Woonsocket is struggling, and the Woonsocket YMCA likewise seems to be underfunded. The facilities are aging. But the pool is okay, as is the exercise gear. However: the men's locker room, at least, is NOT CLEAN. At times it stinks of urine, and I caught a nasty case of athlete's foot there. As a result, I won't use the locker room at all any more. It's inconvenient, but the alternative is worse. Unfortunately some of the members are pretty badly-behaved, too. More than once I've witnessed loud conversations between men who didn't seem able to speak four words in a row without including "f--k" in some form - and so loudly that children in the halls outside could hear them clearly. Not to mention the clueless men who have loud conversations on cellphones in the locker room - which is a complete violation of etiquette, since most phones are also cameras. I must also note that most of the exercise facilities can only be reached by climbing quite a lot of stairs - which puts them out of reach for people who have limited mobility, the very people who most need exercise! That said, the classes I've taken have been great, the staff seems nice, and there are many wonderful members. It's just a pity that an apparently desperate lack of resources and some ignorant members have brought a fine old institution into such a shabby state.