Editors note: This article has been corrected. It previously implied that a $2,000 donation for tables, chairs and umbrellas was given to the Friends of Bigley. That donation was given directly as a donation to Viroqua Area Schools for the purchase of pool furnishings. We have corrected the story to clarify that donation.
July 23, 2026
VIROQUA, Wis. — The Friends of Bigley Pool announced tens of thousands of dollars in new grants and donations to support facility upgrades and lifeguard training during a July 20 presentation to the Viroqua School Board.
Ann Marty, president of the recently formed 501(c)(3) nonprofit, outlined the group’s progress since its inception in the summer of 2025, when a small group of pool enthusiasts began meeting at the Viroqua Food Co-op. The organization, which Marty described as a booster club for the James P. Bigley Pool, now relies on a core group of 12 active members to help fundraise for the facility, which receives limited tax support for its operations.
During the meeting, Marty announced that the group received a $30,000 grant from the Bigley Foundation to address facility maintenance, including tile repair, grout cleaning, and safety needs. Additionally, an anonymous $2,000 donation was made to the school district the day of the meeting to fund new indoor-outdoor deck furniture—including three tables, 12 chairs, and three umbrellas—replacing aging plastic classroom chairs that were deteriorating in the moist pool environment.
The Friends of Bigley Pool has also pledged $1,400 to install a new water bottle filling station in the lobby, with the school district agreeing to cover the electrical installation costs. Future facility goals include raising $4,000 for suit spinners in the locker rooms and installing automatic door openers to improve handicap accessibility, a project they previously sought a $50,000 T-Mobile grant the group did not receive.
Beyond facility upgrades, the organization is heavily focused on staffing and student access. A primary initiative is providing financial assistance for swim lessons and lifeguard certification courses, which currently cost $285 for the required 27-hour training. The full-time pool manager and the board are currently collaborating to create an application process for students needing financial aid, which will be confidentially tied to the district’s free and reduced lunch program.
A History of Water Safety
The pool itself has a deep historical association with the Viroqua Area School District. It was donated directly to the district by local philanthropist James P. Bigley, who provided nearly $1 million to establish the facility.
Bigley was motivated to fund the pool after a local tragedy in which two local farm boys drowned because they had never been taught how to swim. Following the incident, Bigley made it his ultimate vision to ensure that every graduate of the Viroqua Area Schools had the opportunity to learn water safety.
To sustain this vision, Bigley established the James P. Bigley Foundation to serve the area’s future needs, and created a perpetual scholarship fund controlled by the Board of Education to provide post-high school education scholarships. Today, the Friends of Bigley Pool continues his original mission, working to ensure the year-round indoor facility remains a thriving, accessible asset for the next generation of Viroqua students.
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