I don’t know about you, but I can’t say Y.M.C.A. without singing the Village People’s YMCA song in my head! Tell me that happens to you too!

You may have heard the rumors that we MIGHT be getting a Y in Dickson. Well, this time the rumors are correct! The Young Men’s Christian Association may have been founded in London England, but it’s 2,686 YMCAs in the USA will grow to 2,687 by adding one more facility in Dickson TN.

People have talked about wanting a YMCA in Dickson for years, and some have even made attempts to make it happen, but Eric Thornton and Jody Barrett contacted the YMCA association and got the ball rolling. Matt Tidwell, one of the 11 members of the steering committee promoting the Y in Dickson shared that the YMCA Association started the process of investigating Dickson as a viable place to build a Y by doing a phone survey. According to Mr. Tidwell, the response was ” outrageous, better than any phone survey done in Middle TN”.

Three places are under consideration as possible building sites; Hwy 46 across from the Renaissance Center, Buckner Park and near Horizon Medical Center.

The proposed 40,000 sq. ft. YMCA is projected to include an indoor water-park and lap pool, as well as an outdoor pool. Some areas of consideration for the indoor facility are a Teen Center as well as a Senior Citizen Center.

Some area gyms have voiced apprehension as the Y may affect their membership, however, the Y charges membership fees on a sliding scale which will appeal to those who can not afford a gym membership.

The YMCA is so much MORE for the community than a place to work-out. The Y is about sports and camps and group activities. It is about classes and outreach and playtime for kids. Along with the enjoyment provided by a YMCA, we will also benefit from over 200 new jobs as well as 1M dollars of revenue .

But before you get your swimmies on, please note that this is all still in the planning stages. Currently, money is being raised from donations and businesses for the 10M dollar facility, it will not be paid for by tax dollars or city/county funding. As we progress further into the process there will be fundraisers with the help and direction of the YMCA’s fund raising team.

Did you know that in the 1890s, boys ” could not use the pool until after they had passed a proficiency test in gymnastics……swimming was taught by using a rope and pulley system.”? Or that “it was at the International YMCA Training School that in December 1891, James Naismith invented the game of basketball”!! “Volleyball was invented at the Holyoke (Mass.) YMCA in 1895, by William Morgan, an instructor at the Y who felt that basketball was too strenuous for businessmen”. And that “Racquetball was invented in 1950 at the Greenwich (Conn.) YMCA by Joe Sobek”! *

So many GREAT things have happened at YMCAs ! We look forward to seeing GREAT things happen in the future YMCA of Dickson TN!

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*http://www.ymca.net/about_the_ymca/