The Winkler Aquatic Centre opens the doors on the 2024 season next week.
Opening day for the pool is Friday, May 24, and Winkler’s recreation programmer Meg Dias says things have been busy behind the scenes getting everything ready for it.
The facility welcomes Brooke Thiessen and Dean Klassen as the new co-aquatic programmers this summer.
“They’ve been head guards and been with the aquatic centre for a number of years now, so we’re really excited and they’re really excited to take over the helm,” Dias says.
The pair will be backed by an experienced team of lifeguards.
“We were really lucky … we have a lot of returning guards, which is fantastic,” Dias says, noting a former pool ticket clerk is moving into the guard position, and a few of the other newcomers come to the role with lifeguard experience elsewhere.
Swimming lesson registration takes place this week (Winkler and RM of Stanley residents can sign up online at cityofwinkler.ca on Wednesday; registration then opens up for everyone else on Thursday) and, as always, it’s expected the prime spots will fill up fast.
“They have filled up quickly in the past, but there always are openings—the tough part is not everybody always gets the time or the week that they want,” Dias says. “But we’re doing our best to make sure that everybody is accommodated.”
After a busy season of upgrades last year—2023 saw the installation of the new speed slides and a new water heater—there’s nothing on the pool’s to-do list as far as capital projects go for this summer.
“In terms of the maintenance side of things, we don’t have anything big happening this year,” Dias says. “We’ve done some of the cosmetic touch-ups that we do leading up to pool season, but nothing major.”
The pool’s pair of old hot tubs remain closed, though they have not yet been removed. Those were shut down last summer after years of finicky operation and will not be replaced.
On the scheduling front, Dias says they have a great lineup of programs on tap for the months ahead.
“We’ll have Adapt the Fun [for children with special needs] as we have in past years, Senior Swim we will still be offering. We’re looking at offering a couple of extra Parent and Tot swims, potentially on the weekends.”
The aquatic centre also received a grant that will allow them to host special swim sessions for participants from Gateway Resources as well as free sessions for families who might not otherwise have the opportunity to access the pool.
Swim Smart Day is also scheduled to take place during National Drowning Prevention Week (July 21-27).
Stay tuned to the Winkler Aquatic Centre’s social media pages for details on these and other upcoming programs and special events.
Summer day camp
In addition to the various pool programs, Dias notes that the City of Winkler Recreation Department is also offering nine weeks of themed summer day camp fun this year for kids age 6-9 and 10-12 in July and August.
The camps will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and include games, sports, swimming, art, music, and more at a price of $125 per week per child ($100 per four-day week due to holidays).
“There’s a few of them that are almost at capacity, which is awesome,” Dias says, urging families to book their slot sooner rather than later to avoid disappointment.
Weekly themes include Canadiana, Outdoor Explorer, Triple Treat, Water World, Summer Olympics, Art-Venture, Colour Challenge, Game Show Mania, and a season-ending Mash Up Week.
Registration details are available online at themeridiancentre.ca.
