School pride: a small high school boasts a big-time aquatics facility.(Best University/School Facility)(Albuquerque Academy)(Brief Article)

At first glance, the $5.5-million Albuquerque Academy Natatorium looks like a top-notch university facility. Actually, it's a private high school with a storied aquatics history.

As such, the pool, which claims its own share of awards, was built with competitive swimming in mind.

For instance, operating on the concept that deep water is fast water, the competition pool boasts depths of 7 feet, large trench gutters, 8-foot-wide racing lanes, 6-inch lane cylinders, and radiated bottom return water.

The mastermind behind it all is varsity swim coach Dave Barney, who sketched out the initial design on a yellow scratch pad in 1995. Two years later, the facility became a reality and it's been getting attention ever since.

But Barney is quick to point out that it's not all flash. "The natatorium is not a Taj Mahal, nor an art deco kind of facility," he says.

Instead, it was designed and built much of the budget went to advanced mechanical equipment, air ...