"In contention are two standards: excellence in water safety and excellence in swim education. Cumberland Pool must provide both."
- Jason Davis
Olie's Gift & Ship

Sign the Petition

Share your opinion on changes to improve our pool by signing our simple, online petition.

Share this with your neighbors

Help this message reach everyone in our community.👉 Share this site with friends, neighbors, and your neighborhood groups.We need your input to create a pool that works for everyone of all ages and abilities, with an emphasis on safety & fun!

A Catalyst for Positive Change

CumberlandPool.com is a community-led effort advocating for patron-first policy, process, and capital improvements.

What Do You Want to Improve?

Building a Safer, Friendlier Cumberland Pool — Together

Stay informed, share your voice, and help shape pool policies that keep Cumberland welcoming, safe, and fun for every swimmer.

🎉 2025 Pool Season Win!

Puddle jumpers or equivalent U.S. Coast Guard approved devices are now allowed in the preschool lane.This policy change happened because parents spoke up and leadership listened.This marks more than a rule change; it’s a signal of a renewed commitment to safety, clarity, and community involvement. Parks & Rec leadership has voiced their intention to create a safe, intergenerational pool that truly serves Cleveland Heights residents.They've committed to more improvements for the 2026 season. Let’s keep the momentum going!See the current rules at CHParks.com

Advocating for Excellence in Public Pool Policy

We expect Cumberland Pool policies to reflect the gold standard in both water safety and swim education.National guidance says weak or non‑swimmers should wear Coast‑Guard‑approved life vests when around the water. Yet swim education best practice strongly discourage life jackets as they delay the learning process. We believe our pool can excel at both:🛟 Safety around water – Lifeguard rescue should be a last resort, not a policy-mandated first line of defense. Guidance is clear, USCG-approved life jackets are encouraged for weak or non-swimmers near the water.🏊 Excellence in swim education – Grow confident, independent swimmers through coaching and practice. Flotation is discouraged during swim lessons.🤝 Better policies to create better swimmers - We're advocating for:
• A collaborative approach where lifeguards are partners with the community, coaching parents on swim education best practice.
• Creating a color system to easily indicate swim competency.
• Making swim lessons more accessible through more availability and an "open to anyone" approach if there's room for more in a particular session.
• A patron-first approach for managing pool operations.

Our Community Deserves a Fantastic Pool

As Cumberland Pool reaches its 100-year anniversary, we're organizing a multi-year modernization effort that starts with no-cost policy improvements first, with capital improvements and infrastructure modernizations to follow.

Have Five Friends Who Love to Have Fun in the Pool?

Let's make waves, now. Sensible, safe policy shouldn’t wait for next summer, especially when it costs nothing to fix.

Organized, Collaborative, Transparent

The Cumberland Pool Safety Petition is a community-led initiative to advocate for a world-class pool for Cleveland Heights.You can sign the petition in support of (or opposed to) allowing USCG-Approved life vests for all ages, and provide your feedback for all to see. See what others are saying:

What We’re Working On Next

🦺 Allow USCG‑approved life vests outside the preschool lane while still protecting the deep end. Provide approved devices to improve accessibility and equity.📝 Modernize check‑in for non-pass holders with a digital patron-management system, linked to a color-coded swim competency system.☝️ A patron-first approach to crafting policy by using digital systems to protect the pool from bad actors without punishing patrons.🏊 Expanded, more accessible swim instruction - increase swim instruction availability, leverage in‑water “coach guards” and drop‑in mini‑lessons.

Have Friends Who Love Cumberland Pool?

Let's make waves of change. Sensible, safe policy improvements for 2026 starts now.

Resources & Transparency

• Current Cumberland Pool Rules: CHParks.com• American Red Cross Water Safety Guidance Redcross.org, Water Safety | Swim Safety• YMCA of The North, Pool Guidance and Swim Tests• PoolSafety.gov Blog Aleatha Ezra, World Water Park Association