COCHRANE— The Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre is reopening the Jayman Built Aquatic Centre after nearly five months of closure.
The pool will reopen on Monday (Aug. 24), but registration for lane swimming opened on Monday (Aug. 17).
Blair Felesky, the CEO of the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre, noted that the SLSFSC Spray Park sponsored by the Bow RiversEdge Campground Society typically sees 8,000 to 10,000 people per summer, but this year they are on track for 25,000 visits.
It seems as though Cochranites are looking for a place to cool down in this sweltering August heat, and with the opening of the Aquatic Centre, they will have another option.
“It’s been a long time coming, we’ve spent a lot of time over the last couple of months doing significant maintenance on the Aquatic Centre,” Felesky said.
On a typical year, he said, the Aquatic Centre would shut down in September, but because of the forced closure due to COVID-19, they made the decision to conduct the annual maintenance over the summer months.
The maintenance included fixing sharp edges of tile, resurfacing, changing lighting and other infrastructure upgrades.
Felesky said that the staff of the aquatic centre will be employing several measures to ensure the safety of the staff and visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The aquatics team is currently conducting in-water training, reorientation and recertification ahead of the opening.
Members must book their 45-minute block one week in advance of their visit, and Felesky said bookings must be made online. The online bookings ensure the effectiveness of the tracing and tracking program at the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre,
Each lane in the lap pool is limited to one person and users must adhere to their booked time. The Leisure Pool has also been converted into a lane swimming pool, and the same rules will apply. The warm water therapy pool is restricted to therapy programs such as water stretching and healing movement.
All of the regulations in the pool have been made under the guidance of Alberta Public Health, Felesky said.
“We’re in touch with Alberta Health consistently, and they’re very, very supportive of what we’re doing,” he said. “We feel very comfortable with our processes.”
To book a spot at the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre, or to peruse the full list of safety regulations in place at the facility, visit slsfamilysportscentre.com/.
