The aquatic centre at the Centre Wellington Community Sportsplex has been making waves for 10 years. A Feb. 1 anniversary celebration was attended by both patrons and staff of the facility.
Aquatic services supervisor Bruce Parkin noted some patrons and staff have been there since day one. He said one of the programs he is particularly proud of is the Grade 3 Swim to Survive program, which gives Grade 3 students three free swim lessons.
“This is the 10th year we’ve been running it,” said Parkin, noting about 22 schools in Wellington County participate in the program – from Drayton, Maryborough and Mount Forest, down to Rockwood and everywhere in between.
He added the high school physical education program has also been quite committed for a number of years.
“Every phys ed class in Centre Wellington comes in for a few swims every semester,” he said, adding it’s nice getting the school groups in that way.
He explained about 85,000 people use the pool each year and the numbers continue to grow.
Parkin said the aquatic centre originally came about because the need was recognized and council approved the project.
“A lot of our daytime programs are aquafit, lane swims and adult programs,” he said, noting a number of individuals involved in the aquafit program have also been coming for the past decade “… so there are a lot of familiar faces.”
“It’s busy seven days a week,” Parkin said. “It works out to about 230 people per day.” The slides are typically open during public swims and on weekends, Parkin noted.
The 10th anniversary party continues on Family Day with free swimming on Feb. 15.
