‘Everything’s full’: Fall swim lessons go quick as pool closures put pressure on city programs

Winnipeg parents are frustrated after swim lessons for children this fall were filled within hours. Danton Unger reports.

If you had trouble signing up for city swimming lessons this week, you aren’t alone. The city said recent pool closures have put more pressure on its programs.

Ryan Palmquist was among the many Winnipeg parents sitting at their computer at 8 a.m. Tuesday morning—waiting in anticipation for Fall Leisure Guide registration to open.

“It hits zero hour, I press sign in, and then the browser crashes temporarily,” he said. “I hit refresh, I’m back in the queue, and then I go to the waiting screen… and then eventually I get in, and everything’s full.”

Palmquist said while he was disappointed, he wasn’t surprised.

“This is the same experience I’ve had again and again and again.”

The city said within four hours of registration opening on Tuesday, 87 per cent of the fall swimming lessons were full. Palmquist said those remaining won’t work for his family, as most are in the middle of the school day.

“Obviously, the main problem is that there’s more demand than there is supply of lessons, way more,” Palmquist said.

The city said it offers 1,224 fall swimming lesson sessions this year, noting it offers as many lessons as it can with the resources and space available. It added more fall swim classes may be added as new lifeguards are brought on board.

“We are in the process of training an additional 19 to assist with this fall’s programming,” a city spokesperson said, encouraging residents to keep checking the online Leisure Guide for classes even after registration opens.

This all comes as several of the city-owned pools are closed—limiting the space for swimming lessons.

Bonivital Pool and the St. James Civic Centre are both closed for renovations.

According to the city’s website, the Transcona Kinsmen Centennial Pool is also closed, though it is set to reopen in early September. But more closures are on the way, with the city website noting Elmwood Kildonans Pool and the pool at the Cindy Klassen Rec Complex will be closed most of September for maintenance.

This is on top of the closure of the aging Joyce Fromson Pool at the University of Manitoba, which displaced the teams, clubs and programs that used the facility.

“With the University of Manitoba pool closed, there are fewer options, and that’s putting more pressure on City programs. At the same time, upgrades are underway at two City pools to improve facilities for families in the years ahead,” a spokesperson for the mayor’s office told CTV News in an email.

“We know how important these programs are, and we’ll keep working to expand access—including through planned new indoor facilities in Transcona and Waverley West.”

The wait for those new facilities could be a while. The new pool proposed for Transcona has an estimated construction date of 2028 to 2030.