Kerrisdale Pool closed until further notice

Previously scheduled to reopen next week, the Kerrisdale Pool will remain closed for the foreseeable future following what the city has described as an unforeseen maintenance issue.

The news of the closure has sparked concern in the community.

Five-month-old Cassian was set to begin swimming lessons with his mother, Alena Tran, on Monday, until she received an email Friday notifying her that those lessons were cancelled.

“I said, ‘It’s difficult to find open spots for swimming lessons for kids, will you help find new openings?’” Tran said.

“And they said they don’t know.”

Tran then asked if they knew if the pool would be reopening at all, and she was again told they didn’t know.

“It’s too bad,” she said.

“We were looking forward to that.”

A former swim instructor, Tran had wanted to introduce her son to the water at an early age and had secured his lessons on the first day of registration back in December.

Thankfully, family friends have offered up the use of their pool, but Tran says it’s not quite the same.

“Doing it in a community setting is always so much nicer, having him look at the other faces, but we’ll make do in the meantime.”

For local swim clubs, the uncertain future of Kerrisdale is yet another example of the city’s misplaced priorities, putting the overall health of the community at risk.

“Fewer than 50 per cent of kids who graduate elementary school are able to swim,” said Phil Skinder, director and head coach of the Pacific Swim Academy.

“We also know that if they don’t learn by the time they graduate Grade 7, they are not going to learn.”

Skinder has been running swimming lessons and lifeguarding classes out of Kerrisdale for the past 10 years. He says he fears the domino effect the closure of Kerrisdale could have, limiting the number of children able to learn what he views as a life skill.

“All over the city, pools are showing their wear and tear,” he said.

“If we lose Kerrisdale, we lose another pool … every child in the city is going to suffer.”

This is a sentiment echoed by Nadine Pretorius of the Canadian Dolphin Swim Club. Pretorius says she questions whether the substantial resources directed towards the redevelopment of the Vancouver Aquatic Centre could be used better elsewhere.

“We are spending $175 million on things that are not needed,” Pretorius said.

“We need pools across the city — pools for the elderly, pools for kids, pools for babies to learn to swim.”