City needs better swim complex

I totally agree with Mr. Bearman and Ms. Costescu’s assessment of the needs of the actual swimming community at Wascana Pool.

I fear that once again the city will build a play park, as it has basically done in all the indoor pools like Schmirler and Northwest Leisure. Oh, you can lane-swim there, but it is grossly inadequate for anyone who wishes to train or enjoy a good serious lap swim. This may seem “boring ” to a pool architect, but this is in fact what we need in this city for now and for the long term. We need the 50yard pool to be replaced with a 50-metre-by-10-lanes-wide pool at Wascana.

But what is really needed is another aquatic facility similar to the Shaw in Saskatoon — which can accommodate competitive swimming, synchro, diving and water polo. If the city wants to waste money building another outdoor play park with inadequate lane swimming, it should just scrap the entire idea and put the money into a new 50-metre, 10-lane-wide indoor pool with a diving tank and that will allow synchro and water polo athletes to all train and enjoy the sport of swimming in whatever form it may take. The one facility we have is inadequate in every way for the growing, dynamic city that Regina is trying to be. A second indoor 50-metre pool is needed now.

Let’s plant trees in Wascana Park and take this money and get to work on a facility that should certainly also include a separate play area. We built a palace for football and a few miscellaneous events that sits idle for half the year. Now let’s build a fantastic, comprehensive new indoor swimming facility that will serve the community for another 50 years and give thousands pleasure, be it for sport or recreation, every single day of the year.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I am a 79-yearold competitive swimmer and I have family members who are also competitive swimmers. Every water sport is feasible for a lifetime of enjoyment and good health.)

Edie Hilts, Regina