Water fun is for everyone
No matter the weather, it’s okay to jump in the aquatics centre and get active!
University students have a lot of amenities they can take full advantage of. For instance, the University of Regina (U of R) has the Aquatics Centre under its belt. Students registered in full-time classes have a membership to the Aquatics Centre and the Fitness & Lifestyle Centre since they pay a “Student Service and Wellness Fee” as part of their student tuition.
With the new age and technology, the U of R is not behind in making their facilities accessible to everyone. The Aquatics Centre includes the pool, and although it is old, it offers accommodations for swimmers with disabilities.
The Carillon spoke with Dr. Harold Riemer, Dean of Kinesiology, Health, and Safety (KHS) at the U of R, last Wednesday about the Aquatics Centre.
“The pool is almost 60 years old, and so when it was built, this was not a thing, but we do have a lift that we’ve had in there for quite some time that allows people with disabilities to be able to access the pool,” he said.
The pool is also accessible for beginners and experienced swimmers. Dr. Riemer said, “The Aquatic Center includes two tanks. So, one is a deep tank, and the other one is a shallow tank largely for swimming, or swimming lessons. Our swim team [also] trains in there.” The two separate tanks make it more accessible to people of all ages and skill levels.
Besides the facilities themselves, they also run academic and non-credit classes that give students the ability to engage with the KHS department in all capacities they can. “We have AquaFit classes [and] we have some academic classes that run in there,” said Dr. Riemer.
People can enrol in AquaFit classes through the URFit webpage. A program schedule for all URFit courses is also available on that page.
The university is currently undergoing a website update, so conflicting information about the services offered by the Aquatics Centre may be found online. However, the pool schedule can be found on the university’s “Recreation Services” webpage.
“In fact, we’re just getting ready to launch our revamped website… the university is going through the renewal of the website. So, on our new site, we’ve made it quite easy for people to access a schedule of the pool. On the old website, it’s not as easy, but if you go into ‘Rec Services’ under ‘Aquatics’, you can find that information,” Dr. Riemer said.
Information about the Aquatics Centre, programs, and facilities can also be answered by reaching out to the Centre for Kinesiology, Health, and Safety (CKHS) Client Services at clientservices@uregina.ca or cs@uregina.ca.
The pool is supervised by lifeguards who hold current National Lifeguard Safety and instructing certifications. “When we hire our lifeguards, we also want them to have a teaching certification so that they can either deliver swimming lessons or be on deck or work in a couple of different capacities,” Dr. Riemer explained.
So, rest assured that the lifeguards supervising the pool or running the aquatic classes are fully trained to teach and safeguard the swimmers.
It is imperative to note that the KHS wants students to fully utilize these resources that are set up for students to get access. Students can make full use of their included tuition fee by going to the pool, which is open to all ages.
For more information, contact the CKHS’ Client Services department. Free swimming and swimming classes, what more can a student want?
Editor’s note: While editing this article, Dr. Reimer sent out an email informing students the pool is closed until further notice due to challenges regulating water quality.
