ROCANVILLE — Progress on the Rocanville pool is moving ahead with a push to be ready for the 2025 pool season.
The main focus currently is getting the walls and roof up, then indoor work can take place. Planned to open for the 2025 swim season, the pool will be junior Olympic-sized, featuring both one- and three-metre diving boards, a larger mezzanine and added deck space for a lifeguard and first aid room.
The $4 million total project has received support through the Investing in Canada’s Infrastructure grant totalling $1.2 million; a contribution of $300,000 from the RM of Rocanville and around $77,000 through the local fundraising committee.
“We have seen lots of sponsorships and donations come in from businesses in the area and private donations as well,” says Andrea Logan, Recreation Director with the Town of Rocanville, adding those interested in donating can either contact her office at (306) 645-2164 or the Town Office at (306) 645-2022.
While locals will most likely use the pool frequently when it’s complete, Logan also noted how the indoor facility can also serve the region year-round.
“I would like to consider our pool a regional facility,” she said. “We can use our swimming pool for training other communities’ staff so that when they go to open their outdoor swimming pools, their staff is ready to go.”
Swimming lessons are another huge area for potential and something Rocanville has been able to host in years prior.
“In the past, we have offered swimming lessons to other communities,” Logan said. “With it being an indoor pool and able to operate in the cooler months, I think we’ll have more opportunity to be able to do that.”
In addition, fitness classes, lane swims, public swim times, and private rentals will ensure that the pool continues to thrive.
“Before our pool closed, we had started a senior swim time, and I plan on offering that again,” Logan explained. “They can swim, float, walk laps in the pool—whatever it is that they want to do, but it’s a time where they don’t have to worry about it being loud and chaotic, like a normal public swim time would be during the daytime hours.”
The Rocanville Aquatic Centre was built in 1974 and served the community for many years before a structural assessment took place in 2018. A first call for tenders on the new pool project happened in 2021, followed by a public referendum a year later to get a firm answer from the community on whether or not to proceed with saving the pool. Approximately 70 per cent of Rocanville residents voted to save the pool, even if that meant a possible increase come tax time. Fortunately, the new pool project could proceed without affecting the local tax base.
