Cortland YMCA Hosting ‘Dive into the Freeze’ Flash Fundraiser This Sunday for Pool Repairs

The Cortland YMCA is hosting a flash fundraiser titled Dive into the Freeze this Sunday, February 22 beginning at 4pm. The fundraiser is to help pay for repairs to the facilities boiler that warms the pool and its pump system. The YMCA says their boiler has been down for about a month with the temperature of the pool slowing going down, too. Its current temperature is 70 degrees.

The YMCA says everyone is welcome to attend the fundraiser, which asks for a minimum donation of $5 to jump in. The estimated cost for repairs for the pool is $7,300. Branch Manager, Gina Cusano-McLaughlin, told X101 News the pool has only been able to open for 11 days since December 6 due to pump and boiler issues.

The boiler at the YMCA is less than two years old, however due to a technicality, repairs are not covered under the warranty. The boiler was acquired after the YMCA received two grants in the summer of 2024. Following a necessary pump repair at the pool, the new boiler’s heating coils seized and the YMCA was forced to turn it off. They say the blockage is not covered under the warranty.

The pool has been closed since January 28 as a result. Due to this, swim lessons, water aerobic classes, and open swims have all been cancelled. Their swim team that utilized the YMCA, the Stingers’, have practices at SUNY Cortland and the Dryden High School.