Swimming Club Near Me in Miami: Nadadores at Hadley Park's Olympic Pool

At 6:30 on a Tuesday evening, when the heat finally lets go of Liberty City, a crowd of adults in caps fills the long-course lanes of the 50-meter pool in Charles Hadley Park. They are Nadadores of South Florida, an LGBTQ-inclusive masters team that has swum together since 1996 and welcomes, in its own words, gay, straight, young, old, experienced triathletes, swim enthusiasts and allies. If your search for a swimming club near me in Miami is really a search for a team that will learn your name, start here.

Nadadores was formed in 1996, and the team still shares scans of its first newsletter from September of that year. It is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation run by a volunteer board, affiliated with Gold Coast US Masters Swimming and with IGLA, the International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics association. In 2016 the team hosted the aquatic events of the World Outgames and IGLA's 30th championships in Miami.

The club is celebrating its 30th anniversary on the weekend of November 20 to 22, 2026. A welcome happy hour at Gaythering on Friday, November 20, from 6 to 9 PM is ticketed with a $25 donation. A Studio 54-themed party at Twist on Saturday, November 21, from 8 to 10 PM is ticketed with a $30 donation. This year a group also swam at the Valencia Gay Games.

The team rents the Miller J. and Nancy S. Dawkins Olympic Swimming Pool Complex, the City of Miami pool inside Charles Hadley Park. The park honors Charles Hadley, the community figure known as Uncle Charlie and the unofficial mayor of Black Miami, who was honored after his death in 1985. Miami New Times picked the pool as its best pool in Best of Miami 2024, citing its sparkling 50-meter tank, diving boards and high-dive platform.

The city keeps the water at an average of 79 to 82 degrees, heated in winter and cooled in summer. The pool runs short-course lanes across its width for most sessions and long-course lanes on Monday and Wednesday evenings. Parking at the facility is usually easy, and the park around it adds tennis courts, walking trails, a gym and an indoor fitness room.

Coached practice runs on Tuesday and Thursday from 6:30 to 8 PM and on Saturday from 10 AM to noon, weather permitting. The team says sessions cover interval training, endurance, speed, long course and short course, breath training and diving starts, with all four strokes and a swim clock to track your progress. Just show up and check in on deck with the coaches.

OutSFL reported in 2024 that practices draw roughly 15 to 30 swimmers, split into three groups by speed, with workouts from about 2,000 up to 4,000 yards. Coach Luis, who has coached the Nads since 1999, is a USMS All-American, a Gay Games champion, a six-time marathon finisher and an Ironman Austria finisher, so ask him about anything from flip turns to racing.

Newcomers get their first two consecutive sessions as a free trial. You need to be 18 or older and able to swim freestyle properly and repeatedly, but the team coaches beginner, intermediate and advanced swimmers in the same session. Sign up on the team site before your first practice. Visitors passing through Miami are welcome for as many sessions as they can make.

After the trial, every swimmer must register with US Masters Swimming within 30 days, because that membership is how you are insured in the water. A USMS registration costs $75 for a membership that runs through December 31, 2026, or $125 for one that lasts through the end of 2027. Pack your own fins, paddles and pull buoy, since the City of Miami provides no training equipment.

The team sells practice packages. Annual unlimited is $715, six months unlimited is $415, monthly unlimited is $80, a monthly limited plan with four sessions is $40, and a single swim is $20. The team's join page also lists annual dues of $100 for swimmers who become regular Nads. If money is tight, the payments page says to talk to the team captains at practice, who will find a way to support you.

The city also runs the pool on its own schedule, so you can add solo laps. General admission is $3 for adults and $1 for seniors 55 and up, and youth and veterans swim free. A lap swim monthly pass costs $45 for City of Miami residents and $65 for non-residents, and water aerobics classes are $3 for adults.

Because Hadley is a public facility, city lap swim rules apply around team practice. Anyone 16 or older must show identification at the entrance. Circle swimming is required when more than two swimmers share a lane, and the city assigns no more than four to six swimmers per lane. Full-face snorkel masks and any mask covering the nose are not allowed during lap swim.

Kickboards, pull buoys and other training gear need staff approval during public lap swim. Never enter the water without a lifeguard present. The city notes that programs can be adjusted or canceled in bad weather, and summer thunderstorms are the usual reason practice ends early.

Charles Hadley Park itself is the best place to warm up or cool down. Its walking trails, tennis courts, picnic tables and outdoor gym equipment surround the pool complex, and the park is open from 7 AM to 10 PM on weekdays and 8 AM to 7 PM on weekends. The team's social side matters as much as the sets, and members often head out together for brunch after Saturday practice or dinner after an evening swim.

Metrobus Routes 12 and 21 run along NW 12th Avenue, the pool's street, linking it with the Allapattah, Santa Clara and Northside Metrorail stations. Route 12 also reaches the Civic Center station. In July 2026 a group of Nads ran the Pride Run in Brickell along the Underline, so watch the team's Instagram for dry-land meetups.

Pool address: Miller J. and Nancy S. Dawkins Olympic Swimming Pool Complex, Charles Hadley Park, 4800 NW 12th Avenue, Miami, FL 33142. Practice is Tuesday and Thursday 6:30 to 8 PM and Saturday 10 AM to noon. The first two sessions are free, then $20 a swim or $80 a month.