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From the Centre: Child care makes it easier to keep in shape

One of my remaining long-term memories as I drift into the “What did I come in here for?” stage was that of my mom bowling in the afternoon...

One of my remaining long-term memories as I drift into the “What did I come in here for?” stage was that of my mom bowling in the afternoon and I was in some sort of in-house child care at the bowling lanes. Not wanting to pigeonhole myself, let’s just say it was probably over 45 years ago, but the neat thing is that parents could go do a physical activity, drag the preschooler along and still stay within smacking reach when the whining started.

While there have been adjustments to various socially acceptable behaviours over the decades, we have kept part of that alive by offering in-house child care for your preschooler while you workout, go swimming or skating at the appropriate times of the year. There are, of course, some limitations such as a two-hour limit and you must stay within the facility, but for a safe, fun and friendly visit with Susan, our safe, fun and friendly co-ordinator, you can’t beat the convenience. Right now, it is available Tuesday through Thursday, 9 a.m.-noon and we will expand it as required. Call us or check the leisure guide for more info.

Brooke and Christie, our aquatic programmer and head guard, recently attended what we call the affiliates meeting. This happens every year at this time, going back as far as I can remember, and is put on by the Red Cross and Lifesaving Society and is attended by all pool operators that are providers of the respective swim lessons or high-end aquatic training programs. In short, these are the organizations that set the standard how swim lessons and training to become a lifeguard are done as well as driving much of the safety and lifesaving policy and procedure in Canada.

The recent meeting included operators from Castlegar, Cranbrook, Elkford, Fairmont, Golden, Grand Forks, Kim-berley, Nelson, Revelstoke, Sparwood and Trail, along with Creston. The first bit of good news they got was that the trend continues towards fewer drowning deaths each year (hopefully, in some way, thanks to water safety training). Stats show that over 86 per cent were males with an average age of 41 and related to swimming or power boating incidents. National Drowning Prevention Week will be taking place July 16-23 this year.

Aside from quite a few significant changes to lifesaving techniques, such as CPR and the associated training, it appeared many of the facilities in the Interior are experiencing a surge of private swim lesson requests and increased partnerships with the medical community in various aspects. We, of course, had a bit of a leg up on some of the others with an onsite physio and massage therapy provider but it is nice to see inroads being made all over — after all, it all ties back to health and wellness.

Of course, by the time you read this, the aquatic facility will be closed for a short shutdown period, which will allow for any one-year warranty related items to be addressed before the clock ticks down. What do you think? Should we send the place back? Pave paradise and put up a parking lot? Hey, just kidding — put that rope down! Anyway, we hope to fix some minor glitches and do some inspections, along with a thorough scrubbing. Shutdowns are a part of regular maintenance in aquatic facilities, although they are typically late August or early September, which are usually slower times, perhaps coinciding with warmer lake or river temperatures — like that’s going to happen this year. At this point, there is no plan to do a second shutdown in 2011 but it will be a regular occurrence otherwise. Of course we have some other dryland activities and programs set up to cover those diehard aquafitters and swimmers until May 21 — just look at it as an opportunity to dry off for a few weeks.

Neil Ostafichuk is the recreation supervisor at the Creston and District Community Complex.