COCHRANE— Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre is reopening to the public with restructured programming in place in light of the recent easement of provincial public health measures.
The recent announcement of one-on-one training, followed by a second announcement on Saturday (Feb. 6) regarding youth sports left the staff of Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre scrambling to restructure their programming to fit current health guidelines.
“We had gone under the impression that it would be one-on-one training only on ice surfaces,” programs manager at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre Brooke Sabourin said. “And then we got the little surprise Saturday morning that regulations would be changing and allowing groups of 10 to practice as long as social distance is being maintained.”
Following Saturday’s update, programming staff was busy communicating and coordinating with the various user groups who book the facilities at the Centre.
“We had to regroup over the weekend, talk with a lot of our user groups who have already cancelled their seasons, or at least cancelled for February based on the Step 1 restrictions lasting three weeks. We’re just taking a look again at what we can do and what we can’t do. It’s been an interesting couple of days.”
Gym facilities, in accordance with provincial health guidelines, will be open to one-on-one training within the facilities.
“It’s actually kind of a fun time to train with us because the gym is empty,” Sabourin said.
While there is no restriction on the number of trainers that can be at a facility, the current guidelines say that trainers must be able to maintain a distance of three metres between them and their clients, and others using the facility.
“We’re only going to hire back based on the amount we need,” said sales and marketing manager Michelle Everett. “There’s a booking system so we know how to staff it properly. We’re not going to put too many on the floor until the demand requires us to.”
Everett said the facility has not yet reinstated membership fees, and the payments would be suspended until they “have enough value” to offer people in terms of services at the facility.
“We’re just giving our best rates out to the community right now,” she said.
All of the rental fees are being charged at youth rates, the cheapest rate available at the facility.
User groups and minor sports organizations who make use of the facilities will also be allowed to book spaces for practice-only sessions under the recent changes in health measures.
According to Sabourin and Everett, the initial reaction from those groups was enthusiastic.
Everett said the initial plan was to open the Cochrane Arena and evaluate the need for additional space as demand rose. User groups booked the space so quickly that they had to make the Totem 1 arena available within days of announcing their reopening.
“We had some groups that were able to operate on the one-on-one training basis, and also our group that runs the academy program for schools was able to run, so we had some initial bookings already,” Sabourin said.
Cochrane Minor Soccer is also looking at resuming the tail end of their indoor season on the indoor turf available at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre.
All bookings, including turf and gym facilities, will be opening up on Feb. 15.
“We’ll be entertaining all bookings starting next Monday, we just need a few more days to get all of our staff aligned, and get some time to book things in,” she said.
While the majority of the facilities will be opening up, the Aquatic Centre will remain closed for the time being, Everett said.
“I know people are eager about the pool and what’s happening with that, and it will unfold eventually, but it’s not there yet,” she said. “As we get these announcements, we need time to put our staff in place again, which doesn’t happen overnight.”
CEO of Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre Blair Felesky said in a facility update published on their website that the target date for the reopening of the pool is around March 1.
Although the restrictions are strict and do pose some complications for businesses operating under them, Sabourin said, she appreciates having a roadmap to follow.
“I like that they’ve laid out the steps, so it kind of gives us a bit more of a guideline on timelines and that type of thing. It gives us the confidence to know each step of what we’re doing is meeting the guidelines, we know we’re following all of the protocols and procedures and we can prepare for the next steps as they come our way.”
For the most recent facility updates follow Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre on Facebook, or online at slsfamilysportscentre.com/.
For facility bookings contact Nicky at [email protected]/.
For personal training inquiries contact [email protected]/.
