By Penny Wilson, Southport
Posted 23 days ago
I have three children in Piranhas Swim Club.
Let’s talk about the fabulous PCU centre.
After $40 million for the PCU, we will have less, FAR less of a pool than we have now at Southport, which the city is forcing to close. Which, by the way, is paid for and just had a $1.5 million overhaul for all new tiles, etc., on the perfectly functional pool deck (check out the plaque celebrating the event on the door to the pool).
The hockey clubs are not the only ones with less, far less (after $40 million) than more with the new facility.
There will be no diving platforms at the new pool. Why? Most of it is only three to four feet deep, or shallower. How can we go to a meet when our swimmers have never seen a starting block?
I keep seeing print saying “six swim lanes.” As long as you don’t mind dragging your knuckles on the pool bottom in most of them — maybe. However, the swim club has only been offered the rental of three lanes.
Three lanes, no starting blocks. Too shallow to teach the kids to even dive off of the edge of the pool (close your eyes and pretend it is a starting block kids …).
We use five lanes now at Southport, and the kids are constantly banging into each other swimming laps because we have four to five kids in each lane. How can we operate with three?
I take great offence at the ludicrous line that a competitive pool was too expensive. How much did the two-storey waterslide cost? How about the fabulous underwater wave machine — $1 million? — $1.5 million? This was cheaper than a rectangle with diving blocks? How stupid does the city hope I am?
The sad part is, the pool is exactly the right size for 12 swim lanes. What a great competitive pool it could have been. Imagine how many sporting meets Portage could have hosted there. It is the right size, the city just made it three feet deep with a sprinkler and a current river and a waterslide.
Wait a minute — isn’t that Splash Island? Right across the road from the PCU Centre?
And, it is built on what used to be an awe-inspiring greenspace. Also a swamp.
This pool is a disaster of planning — none of the input from the swim club was followed. Why did they even ask?
Sign me — Stop asking for my money and feeding me bull.
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