New West residents will soon be able to enjoy a dip in Moody Park Outdoor Pool.
Although the pool doesn’t normally open until late June, the city decided to open Moody Park pool in April this year, as a way of mitigating the loss of aquatic services at Canada Games Pool.
Corrinne Garrett, the city’s senior manager of recreation facilities and services, encourages people to check out the Active Living Guide, which has a schedule of programs and services the city will be offering at the pool.
“We are going to be offering some new programs in the outdoor pool to try to make up for the loss of services in the Canada Games Pool; so we will be having Aquacize, we will be having some adult-only times,” she said. “They will be pre-registered, so people can book their spot in advance and know that they are not going to get turned away at the gate. It will be a little bit of a different process but we think it will be a great balance of services for people who are wanting just to get back into the pool.”
The city’s outdoor pools in Moody Park and Hume Park are normally open from the end of June until Labour Day. Hume Park Outdoor Pool will open June 30.
Both pools will remain open until Oct. 10. Lane swimming, swimming lessons, leisure swims and Aquafit will be offered at both outdoor facilities.
New Westminster has been without aquatics programming since Canada Games Pool permanently closed in September 2021, after a leak was discovered in the tank and flooding occurred in a mechanical room.
As part of a report about the city’s 2022 outdoor aquatics plan, staff recommended a $2 admission fee for weekend swimming sessions. In the past, admission to both outdoor pools had been free on weekends.
Təməsew̓txʷ Aquatic and Community Centre, now under construction on the Canada Games Pool and Centennial community Centre site, is scheduled to open in late 2023.
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