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Kearns • It's a hundred degrees outside, the kids are growing weary of summer and you've been to the pool a gazillion times.
What to do?
Try the Utah Olympic Oval for a change of pace. One step through the doors into its air-conditioned comfort and you'll see that the iconic facility built for the 2002 Salt Lake Games has a lot more to offer than just the occasional speedskating race for aspiring Olympians.
"That's the big thing that most people probably don't understand, that we're open to the public," said Marc Norman, the director of the oval.
Nearly a decade after its moment in the spotlight, the oval is a public-recreation paradise — a refreshingly cool one, at that — with an ever-expanding lineup of programs that can help adults as well as children keep fit.
"We have tons of programs here for all different levels," said Derek Parra, the former Olympic gold medalist who is the director of youth outreach sport programs at the oval.
Naturally, many of those programs involve the ice sheet.
Not only does the oval have its long-track rink open for public skating, but it also offers learn-to-skate programs, as well as specific speedskating and figure-skating classes. Hockey classes and leagues also are available, along with curling — that funny game in which competitors push heavy stones down the ice.
But that's not all.
There's also the 442-meter running track that surrounds the ice sheets, which Norman said soon will have a new electronic transponder timing system to help athletes track their progress. The oval has hired a track coordinator to oversee a kids track and field program, and it's planning an indoor marathon next winter.
Beyond that, the oval features a play area and fundamental skills classes for children, to teach them basic skills such as coordination and balance needed for a wide range of sports. The idea is to help kids become "physically literate," Parra said, without forcing them to specialize in any particular sport at too early an age.
"Our philosophy is we're going to give you a good base and then you can choose what you want to do," Norman said.
Longtime sports-medicine specialist Russ Toronto is moving a practice to the oval, where weekly injury clinics already are offered for free, and the oval continues to strengthen its partnership with the Kearns Oquirrh Park Fitness Center next door—which itself features a long list of fitness and sports classes, along with its signature outdoor swimming pool.
"We still, I think, have one of the best values in public recreation in the city, if not the state," Norman said.
Indeed, an annual family pass costs just $119, and single-day admission prices are only a few dollars.
All of that has helped attract a devoted clientele, especially on weekends and in the evenings, when Norman said "we all kind of joke it's kind of like a three-ring circus." But officials always are trying to increase public awareness about the oval and its offerings, since Norman believes it should be held to a high standard as an Olympic venue.
"It's a great facility for sure," he said, "and we just continue to look for ways to expand it even more."
Utah Olympic Oval
P Sports classes and camps are available, along with open fitness time.
Where • 5662 S. Cougar Lane (4800 West), Kearns
When • Summer hours are 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday
Details • 801-968-6825 or olyparks.com