DONALDSON RUN RECREATION ASSOCIATION INC

What DONALDSON RUN RECREATION ASSOCIATION INC does

Donaldson Run Recreation Association Inc (DRRA) is a Virginia-incorporated, private non-profit membership association operating a single community swimming pool complex at 2729 Marcey Road in Arlington, Virginia. Founded on August 3, 1958, the organization serves approximately 800+ families and roughly 2,400 swimmers within a defined geographic boundary in the Donaldson Run watershed area of Arlington, bounded roughly from Spout Run to Military Road. The core product is a 600,000 square foot L-shaped main pool with three diving boards, a baby pool, bathhouse, and snack bar, refurbished in 2014, operating seasonally from mid-May to late September. Membership is capped at 650 voting shareholding families, with a 7-9 year waitlist and approximately 40 family turnovers per year; provisional Full Summer and Late Summer tiers, plus an Emeritus tier for shareholders aged 63+, expand access without altering the shareholder cap.

DRRA generates revenue through a multi-stream membership model: a one-time $3,300 refundable capital contribution plus $200 processing fee per new shareholder, recurring annual dues ($600 membership fee plus per-swimmer usage fees, with a 2026 family-of-4 Active total of $885), $50 non-refundable waitlist application fees, plus ancillary revenue from guest passes ($10/person), fitness classes (water aerobics, yoga, pilates), LobsterFest event ticket sales, Food Truck Fridays, private swim and dive lessons, Learn to Swim group lessons, picnic reservations, and branded merchandise. The go-to-market is direct-to-consumer within the geographic boundary, with a multi-channel marketing footprint spanning the drra.org website (powered by MemberSplash), Facebook, Instagram, and X (@drrapool), email and SMS alerts, and competitive visibility through the Northern Virginia Swimming League (NVSL) Division 1 swim ("Thunderbolts") and dive teams managed on Swimtopia. Day-to-day operations are run by approximately 16 staff, governed by an elected Board of Directors (President Doug Levy, VP Todd Bennett, Treasurer Carol Chin-Fatt, Recording Secretary Lew Sawyer). The organization has no subsidiaries, no outside funding, no M&A history, and is structurally a stable, capped, single-asset community club rather than a growth-stage enterprise.

Name

DONALDSON RUN RECREATION ASSOCIATION INC

Legal name

Donaldson Run Recreation Association, Incorporated

Website

https://drra.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1958

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Donaldson Run Recreation Association Inc is a Virginia non-profit community pool association operating a 650-family membership club at a single Arlington, VA facility since 1958, serving neighborhood families with swim, dive, fitness, and social programming under a capped shareholder model with a multi-year waitlist.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Recreation and Aquatic Services

NAICS

Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers (713940), Sports and Recreation Instruction (61162)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYTHAJAEAB

Water Parks (Outdoor/Indoor, Wave Pools & Slides)

Travel & Hospitality/Tours, Attractions & Experiences/Theme Parks, Water Parks & Family Entertainment Centers

SECONDARYTHAAABAA

Outdoor Water Parks (Wave Pools, Lazy Rivers, Slides)

Travel & Hospitality/Adventure, Amusement Parks & Ecotourism/Water Parks

Keywords

• Community swimming pool
• Recreation association
• Swim and dive team
• Aquatic fitness classes
• Social club events

Headquarters

HQ city

Arlington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Capital Contributions: One-time capital buy-in required when reaching top of waitlist and becoming a shareholder. $3,300 (2026 rates) or $2,800 (2025 rates), fully refundable upon leaving the pool.
2. Annual Membership Dues: Annual fees including $600 membership fee plus summer usage fees based on family size. 2026 Active member dues for family of 4 are $885 including the $600 usage membership fee, with additional per-swimmer fees.
3. Processing Fees: $200 non-refundable processing fee when becoming a shareholder. $50 non-refundable waitlist application fee. $50 inactive fee for those declining Full Summer membership offers.
4. Fitness Classes: Revenue from fitness programs including water aerobics (Early Bird passes from $130-$260 for season), mid-day water aerobics ($135), yoga and pilates classes ($90-$160 for 13-week sessions).
5. Guest Fees: Guest passes at $10 per person ($15 on July 4th). Emeritus members receive 10 pool passes included with $50 processing fee.
6. LobsterFest Event: Annual signature social event with ticket sales. 2026 pricing: Lobster $90, Steak $90, Vegetarian $90, Lobster & Steak $110 per person including sides and desserts.
7. Food Truck Events: Revenue from food truck vendor events on select Fridays during the season. Members can purchase food from vendors.
8. Emeritus Membership: $50 processing fee annually for Emeritus members to access pool with 10 included passes. Available to shareholders 63+ years old who resign from shareholding status.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Donaldson Run Recreation Association (DRRA) operates a member-owned community swimming pool and recreation complex in Arlington, Virginia. It sells annual family memberships and offers competitive swim and dive teams, a youth Learn to Swim program, private swim and dive lessons, water aerobics, yoga and Pilates, and a calendar of social events such as LobsterFest, Sunday Brunch, and picnics, along with DRRA-branded merchandise.

Product overview

Donaldson Run Recreation Association is a 650-family non-profit membership pool association offering a single-pool recreational complex with multiple programming layers. The core offering is the DRRA Pool Complex (L-shaped main pool with three diving boards, baby pool, bathhouse, and snack bar). Around this facility, DRRA layers competitive programs (Swim Team and Dive Team via Swimtopia platforms), instructional services (Learn to Swim lessons, Private Lessons), fitness programming (Water Aerobics, Yoga/Pilates), and social programming (LobsterFest, Sunday Brunch, Food Truck Fridays, Holiday Picnics). The association operates on a tiered membership model: Shareholder Membership (full voting rights, ~7-9 year wait), Full Summer Membership (~3-5 year wait), Late Summer Membership (immediately available from waitlist), Emeritus Membership (for 63+ shareholders), and Daily Use Passes (non-member access).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DRRA Pool Complex and Memberships Member-owned community swimming pool and recreation complex in Arlington, Virginia, with an L-shaped main pool, three diving boards, a clubhouse, and a picnic grove; access is sold through annual family memberships.
• DRRA Sharks Swim Team
• DRRA Dive Team
• Learn to Swim Program
• Private Swim and Dive Lessons
• Water Aerobics
• Yoga and Pilates Classes
• Social Events and Gatherings
• Daily Use Passes
• DRRA Merchandise

Quantifiable outcome

• Average 40 families turnover annually creates approximately 40 new member opportunities per year
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Northern Virginia Swimming League (NVSL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDRRA competes in NVSL Division 1 with its Thunderbolts swim and dive teams. League participation provides competitive opportunities for members and community visibility. The association participates in divisional meets, divisionals events, and All Stars competitions.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Life Time Fitness: National premium fitness club operator with outdoor/indoor pools, swim lessons, youth programming, and family memberships. Represents the broader commercial incumbent that competes for high-end family recreation spend in the DC area.
• YMCA of Metropolitan Washington: Broader community recreation operator with multiple DC-area facilities offering pool access, swim lessons, youth sports, and family programming. Competes for a portion of DRRA's addressable family and youth-swim market at a larger, multi-site scale.

Direct peers

• Yorktown Swim & Tennis Club: Private community swim and tennis club in the Northern Virginia / DC area with a member-equity structure, family memberships, and competitive swim programming. Comparable to DRRA in operating model and customer segment.
• Arlington Forest Club: Private, member-owned swim and recreation club in Arlington, VA with a comparable membership model, summer swim team, and family-oriented programming. Operates under the same community-pool value proposition as DRRA in an adjacent Arlington neighborhood.
• Tuckahoe Recreation Club: Member-owned community pool and recreation club serving a defined Arlington, VA neighborhood with swim team, lessons, and social programming. Closely comparable to DRRA in scale, governance, and value proposition.
• Sleepy Hollow Bath & Racquet Club: Member-owned community pool and recreation club in the Northern Virginia area offering seasonal swim access, lessons, and social programming to neighborhood families. Directly comparable membership-club model to DRRA.

Emerging players

• Big Blue Swim School: Multi-location commercial swim school franchise offering year-round lessons for children. Overlaps with DRRA's Learn to Swim and private lesson offerings but operates a retail year-round model rather than a seasonal membership club.
• Aqua-Tots Swim Schools: Multi-location commercial swim instruction franchise with a strong Northern Virginia/DC presence. Comparable to DRRA in the swim-instruction use case but competes through dedicated, year-round facilities rather than a community club.

Others

• SwimTopia: Swim team management software platform that powers DRRA's Thunderbolts swim and dive team sites. Relevant as a technology partner/ecosystem peer enabling DRRA's competitive programming.
• Northern Virginia Swimming League (NVSL): League in which DRRA's Thunderbolts compete (NVSL Division 1). Peer as a partner/ecosystem relationship: NVSL defines the competitive framework and visibility that DRRA's swim and dive teams participate in.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/drrapool
• Facebookfacebook.com/donaldsonrunthunderbolts
• Instagraminstagram.com/dr_thunderbolts/?hl=en
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/donaldson-run-recreation-association-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DONALDSON RUN RECREATION ASSOCIATION INC