Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre (SLSFSC) has taken the first steps of its phased and cautious reopening.
“Our members will not be coming back to the same place we left March 15,” said CEO Blair Felesky. “We’re just happy that we get to provide this platform again for our community to get physically and mentally fit again.”
SLSFSC's opening will take place in accordance with public health guidelines provided by the Alberta government. On June 9, the government announced a new set of businesses and services – including indoor and outdoor recreation facilities, sports centres, gyms and swimming pools – could open their doors to the public in Stage 2 of the Alberta Economic Relaunch, as long as COVID-19 public health protocols are in place. These include two-metres of social distancing.
“The government surprised, I think, every rec facility across the province with accelerating things,” Felesky said. “It’s all very good news.”
The facility had been preparing for a phased relaunch but did not anticipate it would be able to open at the pace it did. Felesky said it will take time to adjust operations and condense the phases they have developed for reopening.
According to Felesky, the public was granted access to the first section of the sports centre to open – Cochrane Arena – on June 12.
“We always believed Cochrane Arena was a good example where we could execute upon a most safe environment because of the control points,” Felesky said. “We've had plans intact for a number of weeks now.”
There is one user group in the arena for the next three weeks. The group submitted a robust health protocols plan and will serve as a litmus test to better understand and learn the best way to engage with public health measures at the facility.
“At the end of June we feel we are going to be very comfortable to continue to expand on all facets of our operation with some of the things we learned at Cochrane Arena,” Felesky said.
In mid-July, the Totem Arena ice service will be activated to expand programs like hockey and figure skating. Fitness programs are expected to begin around July 1 and the Spray Park will also be opened at that time. The aquatics area of the facility is targeted to open around August 1.
“Our members will not be coming back to the same place we left March 15,” Felesky said. “We’re just happy that we get to provide this platform again for our community to get physically and mentally fit again.”
Felesky added that different programs and phases will take place between July and August to help bring the sports centre back to life.
Other areas of the facility – including the play care and the climbing wall – will not be used during the summer because they are high-touch areas. Felesky said SLSFSC hopes to open these areas around September 1.
For now, Felesky said they are excited and grateful to have clarity on the operation and public health measures needed for reopening.
SLSFSC had originally anticipated reopening on September 1 at a 50 per cent capacity, based on the previous model for the Alberta Economic Relaunch.
“The world changed very quickly in the space of two-and-a-half-weeks,” Felesky said. “It is complicated but we’ll navigate through this.”
The centre is committed to educating members to create the safest environment possible.
Felesky said he hopes people return to the facility and feel good about the measures that have been taken to keep them safe. He added that he expects vulnerable demographics such as seniors may take longer to feel comfortable coming to the sports centre.
“Everybody has a different safety gauge,” Felesky said. “At the end of the day, we can only control from an operation standpoint some of those features— We can’t control some of the human decisions that come along the way.”
The most important aspect of reopening the recreation centre is it can begin to once again provide people with the opportunity to engage in physical literacy, Felesky said.
“We have a long way to go still, of course,” Felesky said. “It feels lifeless. It feels very cold because there’s no energy from people and relationships. We’re looking forward to getting engaged again.”
