News: Fundraising Campaign to Replace the Scoreboard at Bristol’s Dennis Malone Aquatics Center Announced

Fundraising Campaign to Replace the Scoreboard at
Bristol’s Dennis Malone Aquatics Center Announced
 
Bristol, CT – [September 9, 2025] – At the August 20, 2025 regular meeting of the Board of Park Commissioners, commissioners endorsed a new fundraising initiative to replace the aging scoreboard at the City of Bristol Dennis Malone Aquatics Center (DMAC). The current electronic scoreboard at DMAC, is no longer consistently functioning, impacting the athletic experience for the competitive swimming programs that are hosted at the city pool.  

Competitive swimming coaches, participants, and parents, recently met with the Bristol Parks, Recreation, Youth & Community Services (BPRYCS) Superintendent Dr. Joshua Medeiros and Aquatics Supervisor Raelynne Andrews to discuss the scoreboard and develop a plan for fundraising $55,000 for its replacement. Superintendent Medeiros presented the fundraising plan to Board of Park Commissioners at their August 20, 2025 regular meeting and the commission voted unanimously to support the plan.

BPRYCS Superintendent, Dr. Joshua Medeiros, explained “DMAC is an essential community resource that supports ongoing competitive swimming programs and water safety efforts offered in Bristol and to the surrounding towns. The pool and scoreboard are used by numerous completive swim organizations, including Bristol SPLASH (Connecticut Yankee Swim League), Bristol Eastern High School, Bristol Central High School, Lewis Mills High School, and Saint Paul Catholic High School (Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference).

A fundraising initiative to contribute to the costs of replacing the DMAC scoreboard has been started and community members are invited to make a tax-deductible donation to the Friends of Bristol Parks and Recreation Fund through the Main Street Community Foundation.

Medeiros continued to say, “The Bristol Board of Park Commissioners recognize this is a sizeable expense. To help kick off fundraising efforts, they voted at their August 20, 2025 meeting to request $10,000 out of the Friends of Bristol Parks and Recreation Fund to support the campaign. That leaves $45,000 remaining needed to meet our goal and cover the costs of replacing the scoreboard.”

To donate, visit https://www.mainstreetfoundation.org/friends-bristol-parks-and-recreation-fund. There is an opportunity to direct donations to a specific initiative and/or in memory/celebration of someone, specify that the donation is for the “DMAC Scoreboard”.

Board of Parks Commissioners Vice Chair, Robert Fiorito, expressed his sentiment, “Together we can make a difference and ensure that our athletes have the resources they need to succeed.” The fundraising campaign will close in March 2027. Questions can be directed to the Bristol Parks, Recreation, Youth and Community Services office at (860) 584-6160 or parksandrecreation@bristolct.gov.