Future Olympians could soon be diving into New Westminster’s Canada Games Pool.
The Speedo Western Canadian Swim Championships will take place at Canada Games Pool from Feb. 13 to 16. The meet will cause a temporary disruption to swim programs and public swimming at Canada Games Pool.
“Essentially the pool will be closing completely, with the exception of the upstairs gym,” said Hilary Knowles, the city’s aquatics director. “There is a fairly high qualifying time for swimmers to make in order to qualify for this particular meet.”
Swimmers will take their first dip in the pool on Wednesday, Feb. 12, which is practice day. The meet, which runs for the next three days, gets underway with warm-ups starting at 7:30 a.m. and heats running until 8 or 8:30 p.m.
Between 400 and 500 high-calibre swimmers aged 16 years and under are expected to take part in the Western Canadian Championships.
“The efforts and responses that go into an event like this are much more intense than a normal meet we would run,” Knowles told The Record about preparations for the meet. “It’s the caliber.”
In addition to testing for drugs and providing food for the coaches and officials, the meet also has strict requirements regarding the pools and equipment. The facility must post details about the pool chemical levels daily and must have contingency plans in place to address any unexpected circumstances that may arise.
The Justice Institute and Queen’s Park will be used for overflow parking for buses, and attendees will use some space in the Centennial Community Centre. A small curling bonspiel will be taking place at the Royal City Curling Club the same weekend.
“It will be a fairly busy site,” Knowles said.
The swimming championships have required the city to make some adjustments to its regular swim lesson schedule, which now gets bumped into the first week of Spring Break. That may or may not have an impact on registration for swim lessons.
News that the New Westminster facility would be home to this year's Western Canadian Swim Championships came as a surprise to city officials and the Hyack Swim Club.
In April 2013, staff informed city council that Tourism Burnaby had approached the city and asked it to submit a proposal to host the meet – having already listed Canada Games Pool as a host facility because Burnaby’s pools aren’t equipped to host the event. City officials said it was “awkward” and “strange” for an outside organization to nominate the city for hosting the event but were supportive of the plan.
“It’s been a New Westminster event right from the get go,” Knowles said. “Burnaby Tourism has contributed financially to the event.”
Knowles said the Hyack Swim Cub could benefit from the meet by having more volunteers trained, and local businesses may see a boost in business.
“Swim Canada said to us, people love a meet in B.C. – the weather is nicer, it’s a pretty province to come to,” she said. “If you are coming from the prairies you … might be inclined to stay an extra day or two.”
Knowles said the city will be renting out the pool for five days to Swim Canada, which will charge an admission fee for spectatators.
While it takes a lot of work to prepare for the high-caliber meet, Knowles said it’s a task embraced by staff.
“It’s a two-edged sword. It’s a lot of work. It is above the workload that exists here,” she said. “It's also exciting to do something that is out of the norm. The last time we had it was 2003.”
Community members will have a chance to check out some of Canada’s top, young swimmers at Canada Games Pool.
“They are more than welcome to watch,” Knowles said.
