The days of doing a cannonball off the diving board at Moody Park Outdoor are done but pool goers will soon have a chance to reach new heights.
As locals have flocked to the outdoor pool, many have wondered what’s become of the one-metre springboard that was included in the $5-million facility that opened in 2009.
“Last year we had some mechanical issues with the diving board so we had to remove it at the end of the season last year,” said Steve Kellock, the city’s senior manager of recreation services and facilities. “As a result, we looked at all of our options in terms of replacement of the diving board. Because of the shape and nature of the pool it has already been a diving board that restricted patrons to feet-first entry anyways. We looked at ways to better activate and engage the community in that space.”
The city has ordered a climbing wall that will be installed at Moody Park Outdoor Pool later this summer.
“Because of the fact that the diving board was a feet-first only entry into the pool, it very much limited the users’ experience,” Kellock said. “Our feedback has been that it is not being utilized to its full potential so looking for other ways to better engage that space was our best path forward.”
The $15,000 climbing wall, which will be 16-feet tall and four-feet wide, is manufactured by Spectrum Aquatics.
“It has different modular holds – like hand holds and foot holds. Kids work their way from the water up the wall. It is a bit inverted so it hangs out over the pool. They can either jump off the wall and land in the water or they fall off as they are trying to climb,” Kellock said. “It is basically an interactive climbing space.
Kellock said the removal of the diving board and replacement with a climbing wall has increased the usable space of the deep area of the pool.
“Because it’s modular, you can change where and how the holds are on there. You can actually change the difficulty of it,” he said. “You can make it fairly easy and straightforward. I have actually seen some of the playgrounds in parks and outdoor spaces have a preschool climbing wall so it’s very, very easily attained by the five and under. You can go much more advanced if you want. We would definitely look to try and appeal to the broadest audience possible.”
