I've been to pools all over the world, and i will put the Lawson Aquatic Centre as on of my favourites. It is a very fast pool ,the deep tank - short course particularly so, it has relaxed feeling about it and let shows' it self off as a "Cathedral" of sorts. However the pool is getting old. Well lets be honest the whole City of Regina infrastructure of building and leisure facilities are old. The last pool to be built in the City was the Sandra Schmirler Pool in the South East in 1989.

The increased recreative needs of the general public and the increased needs of sports teams with the near professionalism (in commitment - not pay) of all amature youth sport (not just aquatics), and yet the ever squeezed timetables of the facilities seems to put public needs against (sometimes aggressively) the sports groups. neither one wants the other one there and in recent times the coach of a high profile team was heard advocating "lets just kick them out, so we can take over". This attitude does not serve us well. Surely as a famous Beatle once said, "we can work it out".

So that brings me to a recent meeting I was able to attend as part of ongoing consultations with user groups and the City's facility planning. The City disclosed with the user groups (swim teams, diving, water polo, synchro) what it considers its plan on building new facilities and the time table for which it feels it can get them all built ( find the newspaper report here). Remember we were just at the aquatics meeting, there were other meetings for other sports groups (football, hockey. soccer etc) who are all wanting facilities.

I came out of the meeting with mixed feelings.

I am a natural sceptic, but I got a good sense from the City Staff. This is a vast undertaking by the City, a comprehensive overhaul, rebuild and new build of facilities in the City of Regina. They seemed to have taken on board issues from previous "town hall" style meetings. The cost alone is going to be staggering, $40 million minimum for a replacement of the Lawson Aquatic Centre, plus a replacement for the Wascana pool, plus additional aquatic upgrades and replacements and additions. I for one am glad it will be happening, and the City should be complimented of doing so.

The other feeling was of disappointment. when the city was disclosing its plans it was like a kid being told it was getting a bike for Christmas, in August, "we want it now" was what I heard from various corners of the room. Granted the pools are dated, and it would have been nice for this to have happened 1 year, 5 years, 10 years ago. But lets be fair here, the Lawson has about 15 years of life left. The very fact that the pools will be built should make us feel 'warm and fuzzy', but oh no not us, we need this facility now. This statement could be read the following way. We need this facility now, because I won't get to be coaching at it/my kid won't be swimming by then etc. Do they realise how much money and time will have to go into this development - from the green light to the first splash would be 3 years, so having a time table of all jobs completed by 2020 is fair.


I have lots more to say on the subject, but that will have to wait

read the newspaper article here