WESTLOCK – Shuttered since mid-December, the Westlock Aquatic Centre will open Monday, March 8, while the Rotary Spirit Centre doors will be unlocked March 15, albeit with limited capacity and activities as per Stage 2 of the province’s economic relaunch plan.
Four weeks ago the province allowed one-on-one fitness training and some group sports activities for youth to restart and during a March 1 news conference, health minister Tyler Shandro said they’re now allowing low-intensity group indoor activities, however, high-intensity workouts, such as running on treadmills remain banned by the province.
Town CAO Simone Wiley said the municipality’s COVID recovery taskforce met March 2 to try and get a handle on exactly what those guidelines meant for their facilities, but decided they needed more clarity. Wiley went on to say that during a meeting Alberta CAOs had with Dr. Deena Hinshaw March 3, they were given more information, which she in turn shared with the taskforce.
“It has definitely been a challenge this time around with the way the province has described the activities and really left it to the operators of those facilities, fitness in particular, of what’s considered low intensity and high intensity,” said Wiley, noting all 34 full-time, part-time and casual staff who work at both the pool and RSC will be recalled.
“We’re working through people being laid off for a number of months now and we know some of them have gotten employment elsewhere. So today, we’re working through who’s coming back and who’s not coming back and where does that leave us.”
As for the pool reopening, masks are required and drop-ins are not allowed — people need to call 780-349-6677 to book a time, while the town is urging patrons to limit the time spent in change rooms as much as possible and to arrive dressed for their activity.
Initial programming includes low-intensity aquafit Monday to Friday from 9 to 9:45 a.m. and 10:30 to 11:15 a.m., private swim lessons Monday, Tuesday, Thursday from 3 to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Private household pool bookings are available Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, while private household bookings are available for the virtual rec room and racketball court. The gym will be available for one-on-one sessions with a certified trainer, or one-on-one household training.
More details on the reopening of the RSC will be released by the town March 9.
The RSC and pool have been closed to the public since Dec. 13 when the province issued its second round of lockdown orders as COVID-19 case rates soared, forcing hospitals to cancel non-urgent surgeries and reassign patients and staff. Previously both facilities had already been operating on reduced hours following measures introduced by the province at the end of November.
Following the December shutdown, the town decided to pull the ice from the RSC — and confirmed in January it wouldn’t be going back until the fall — but kept the water in the pool, albeit at a lower temperature to save on heating costs.
“The Aquatic Centre is highly used by the senior population and we’re excited to be able to get them back into the pool in whatever way, shape or form we can,” Wiley said.
“I’m happy the taskforce made the decision to keep the water in the pool because that means we can react to this quickly. If we had drained the pool we would have at least been two weeks out.”
