The town of Outlook finds itself in a rather unique position when it comes to offering aquatic recreation this summer in the form of its Van Raay & Community Swimming Pool.
That鈥檚 because Outlook鈥檚 facility has turned out to be the proverbial last man standing, with other pools in the neighbouring communities of Rosetown, Kenaston and Davidson not opening at all in 2020 due to the impact of the COVID pandemic.聽 The province announced that outdoor swimming pools could open as soon as this past Monday as part of Phase 4.1 of the Reopen Saskatchewan Plan, but facilities such as the ones mentioned made the choice not to open, due in part to financial issues and/or difficulty in managing the new standards and guidelines.
The facility in Outlook, meanwhile, is looking at opening up on the same day that it did last year, according to Recreation Director, Trevor Ouellette.
鈥淲e鈥檙e shooting for a July 1st opening,鈥� said Trevor, on the phone with The Outlook last week.聽 鈥淭he reason why we鈥檙e shooting for that day is because of the boiler; we鈥檙e waiting to get that fired up and ready to go.聽 The pool is full, but we haven鈥檛 added any chemical or balanced it up yet.聽 We鈥檙e just waiting for the heat to get turned on and we can start adding that chemical, and then having in-service training for the staff to go through.鈥�
Ouellette touched on how things will be different at the pool under the standards put in place due to the pandemic, including how rescues will be done if they need to be performed.
鈥淭he biggest change is how we do our rescues,鈥� he said.聽 鈥淯nder old protocols, we鈥檇 be able to just come out of the change house and assist right away and then the person that did the rescue stays on-site.聽 With the new protocols, when they come to assist, they have to be fully PPE鈥檇 up (Personal Protective Equipment) and then they become charge, and then the person doing the rescue then has to dry off, get the PPE in, and then they become support.聽 So, it鈥檚 a change on how, in rotation, a rescue will work.聽 As well, we used a valve and mask to do our CPR in the past, and we鈥檙e going to a bag CPR now, so there鈥檒l be even less contact if resuscitation is required.聽 It鈥檚 not exactly new, but just a few added layers to it, and with that, we just have to practice so that everyone understands that protocol moving forward.鈥�
With the still-new pool only opening last summer, many would鈥檝e been heartbroken to see the COVID pandemic strike a blow to the facility and keep it on the shelf with others that won鈥檛 open this year, but the goal of those behind the scenes was always to open the doors.
鈥淚t was always my full intention to open this year,鈥� said Trevor.聽 鈥淭he only time we discussed closing is if we knew our opening wasn鈥檛 going to happen until after *this* date, and then that was going to be our drop date.聽 Leading up to it though, we鈥檝e been going full-bore and we鈥檝e got staff hired and ready to go.鈥�
Quite a few number of staff are also returning for the 2020 season, Ouellette noting that there are about 14 workers hired and he may increase that to 15 once the schedules have been finalized.聽 One major facet of the pool that parents have been asking about is swimming lessons, which will see a change in size this year.
鈥淲e鈥檙e definitely going to offer lessons,鈥� Trevor said.聽 鈥淚鈥檓 actually working on our mail drop for the community that鈥檒l have the way we鈥檙e doing registration for lessons and what they鈥檙e going to look like.聽 We鈥檙e reducing the class size from 6, 8 or 10, depending on what level you鈥檙e on, to 4 and 5.聽 Preschool levels 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 are going to be 4 for sure, and then the swimmer levels 1-6 will be 5.聽 That鈥檚 about a 40% reduction in class size, and normally we鈥檇 run four groups of lessons at one particular time so that we鈥檇 have four instructors and four classes going, and we鈥檙e now going to reduce that by 25%, so we鈥檒l have three going.聽 The guidelines call for the same two meters of distancing in the water, so by reducing that and the way we鈥檙e setting up our lessons is going to maximize the same speed so that we鈥檙e not trying to adjust on the fly.聽 It鈥檒l all be pre-determined in the way the lessons are going to run.鈥�
All the new standards, guidelines and protocols as it relates to health, safety and distancing have been studied and analyzed as it relates to the pool, and Ouellette is confident in how it鈥檒l be applied to ensure safety as well as enjoyment.
鈥淲e really looked at all the protocols they were suggesting two or three weeks ago, and we really worked on what鈥檚 going to work for us at our pool,鈥� he said.聽 鈥淲e鈥檙e really unique in the pool and the way it was built to accommodate something like this.聽 We have the outside shower, and for lessons, everyone鈥檚 going to use it.聽 The goal is to not open up the interior shower and have everyone use the outdoor one, but we鈥檒l see how that runs.鈥�
The pool鈥檚 hours of operation and the related programming try to bring a balance in order to satisfy everyone looking to go for a dip this summer.
鈥淔or the month of July, we鈥檙e going to run lessons from 8:30 to 5:00,鈥� said Trevor.聽 鈥淧ublic swimming in the evenings from 6:00 to 8:30, and then we鈥檒l do adult programming from 8:30 to 9:30, and that鈥檚 all on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.聽 On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, it鈥檒l be public swimming from 1:00 to 5:00 and then 6:00 to 9:00.聽 So, we鈥檝e really tried to maximize the amount of lessons we have, as well as finding a good balance of offering enough public swim time as well as enough adult programming.聽 We鈥檇 love to do a morning lane swim, but we just can鈥檛 see how it would work in our cleaning schedule and how our staffing would work to make that happen in the month of July.聽 August might look a little different, but this is what we鈥檙e going to do.鈥�
As for the closing date, Ouellette says he鈥檇 like to see the pool open through the last long weekend that we鈥檒l have this summer.
鈥淚 would love to stay open until the Labour Day long weekend in September,鈥� he said.聽 鈥淪taff usually dictates that, depending on who we have that can help stay open that weekend, and then basically put the pool to bed that following week.聽 Worst-case scenario, we鈥檙e probably looking at the start of September, and best-case scenario is the Monday of the Labour Day long weekend.聽 That鈥檚 always my goal every year, to close things up by then.鈥�
