With scores of swimming lessons and a club development camp set to begin in July, the delayed opening of the town’s new pool is pushing aquatic administrators into Plan B mode … just in case.
“We all found out yesterday. Everybody’s kind of just adjusting now,” Cochrane Piranhas Swim Club head coach Breanna Hendriks said Tuesday. “We were really looking forward to the new pool coming June 26 – I had done all my progressions and stuff around that.å
“There’s nothing we can do about it … we just have to deal with it and move forward.”
One of the most exciting things about the construction of the approximately $35-million Jayman Built Aquatic Centre for clubs like the Piranhas and the Cochrane Comets is the ability to expand their membership base with additional swimming space offered in the new eight-lane pool.
In anticipation of that growth, the Piranhas – which is a summer-only swim club – set up its first-ever development camp, and had expected it to take place in the new facility.
The three-week, three-day a week program begins on July 10 – which now falls seven days before the next projected opening of the aquatic centre on July 17.
“We were really excited about it,” Hendriks said, adding the club will likely move the camp into the Big Hill Leisure Pool if the old facility can manage it.
“We’re going to figure out a plan – if not, everybody gets their money back. We’ll send out communications and emails … people shouldn’t worry, it’s not for a bit.”
July 17 is also when summer swimming lessons are set to begin, and aquatics director John Napier said some lower levels sold out within a day because of the backlog of families on a waiting list, created by the demand-over-supply at the smaller Big Hill pool.
If the new centre raises the curtain as planned, Napier assured those classes will not be affected.
However, he said “based on this information coming to light,” his team is now working to determine how to accommodate swimmers in case the July 17 opening doesn’t occur.
He added his group will be in touch with swimming lesson registrants to make sure everyone is kept in the loop.
“Now we’re doing our planning next week with the potential new date … that’s definitely our hope is to be geared up and ready for those lessons,” Napier said. “We need to give our public as much notice as possible – if we need to adjust those lessons some how, some form … we need some time.
“We would love to be open for that time and that’s what we’re shooting for. As soon as we know, we’ll let everybody know.”
Senior manager of Community Services Suzanne Gaida said the town is exploring all options when it comes to the scheduled swimming lessons, including cancelling, changing times, or running partial lessons in the event the aquatic centre does not open on time.
“We’re looking at what we can do ... We don’t know what the plan is at this point because we don’t know when it will be open,” she said, adding administration is aiming for a “window of mid- to late-July.”
“Every day it changes ... We’re looking at everything.”
Napier said the July 17 date does accommodate for proper training of pool staff to learn the intricacies of the new aquatic functions, like the wave pool, lazy river and water slides.
Big Hill pool will remain open and functional until the new facility is officially up and running.
“Until we open the new pool,” Napier said, “we still have to service the needs of our community.”
