Cobb Doesn't Budge On Capacity Limits At Aquatic Centers Despite Petition, Opposition

COBB COUNTY, GA — More than 2,000 people have signed a petition asking Cobb County leaders to remove its COVID-19-related capacity restrictions at county aquatic centers, but the county isn't budging on its decision.

Cobb Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Lisa Cupid signed a COVID-19 declaration of emergency just before Christmas, and County Manager Jackie McMorris re-instituted a mask mandate and social distancing policies in all indoor county-owned public buildings — including aquatic centers.

Jennifer Deak, a parent of two Walton High School swimmers, told the Marietta Daily Journal that the team got news that the capacity limits affected county aquatic centers midday Thursday, with the team's senior night planned for Friday at the Cobb Aquatic Center in Marietta. Cobb County Schools regularly rents two county-owned aquatic centers for swim meets and events.

Parents were told they were capping capacity at 100 people. Walton's swimmers and divers alone total close to 100 people, Deak told the news outlet.

"That's not even taking into consideration the families. That's not taking into consideration the coaches," she told the MDJ.

The team got permission to increase the building's capacity to 125 people shortly before the swim meet on Friday. While Walton was able to split the team up to avoid swimmers standing outside in the cold weather, parents from other schools were not as lucky, she told the Journal.

Charles Barry, a junior on the Walton swim team, started the Change.org petition Friday, calling on county leaders to lift the restrictions.

“The meets are limited in capacity which causes people to sit outside in the freezing cold during meets, or separate the meets by boys and girls, or even have coaches cut the amount of swimmers,” Barry told East Cobb News. “It is absurd that they are limiting this because it is causing our meets to not run normally and not run how they should be.”

Cupid issued a statement Monday saying capacity limits at the aquatic centers are necessary for combatting the continual rise in COVID-19 cases in Cobb County and across Georgia.

“As the mother of student-athletes, I understand the frustration from not being able to watch your children compete,” she said. “However, public health leaders have impressed upon me now is not the time to have large groups gathering together in confined spaces during this record COVID surge. Our local hospitals are nearing a breaking point, and our staff has been severely impacted due to rising cases in the county.”

The full statement can be viewed at cobbcounty.org. To see the petition, visit Change.org.

Related: COVID-19 State Of Emergency, Mask Mandate Issued In Cobb Again