Frustration follows opening of city rec program registration

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This article was published 22/03/2023 (945 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Registering for City of Winnipeg Leisure Guide recreation programs has been anything but leisurely for frustrated parents scrambling to get their children into swimming lessons.

However, civic officials say help is on the way.

“You have to add as many eligible classes as possible, regardless of date and time, because you’re just hoping to get (your kids) into something,” said Dianna Anderson, who described a tense morning this week, attempting to register her six-year-old daughter.

The city opens its Leisure Guide registration portal seasonally. The latest round was 8 a.m. Tuesday (for residents) for combined spring and summer activities.

For the fourth consecutive time, Anderson said she could not secure swimming lessons for her daughter, owing to “glitches” and a lack of available spaces.

“It’s definitely really frustrating,” she said by phone. “I pay my taxes, and I think every child should have the opportunity to learn that skill… It’s essential.”

Other parents reported similar issues, saying classes were appearing full minutes after registration opened, not appearing at all, or the website crashing.

City spokesperson Adam Campbell did not comment Wednesday on whether the portal functioned properly on opening day, but said nearly 11,000 people were able to register for activities.

The numbers were down roughly 20 per cent compared to 2019, which was the last time the city combined spring and summer registrations.

By day’s end, spring and summer activities were 69 and 18 per cent booked, respectively. Spring swimming was the most popular category: 83 per cent full by noon, with 5,403 children registered.

“Space is still available for classes in all categories, and additional classes may be added as staff are hired,” Campbell said in an email.

The city’s 2023 operating budget, which council voted on Wednesday, includes a $150,000 investment in lifeguard recruitment and retention.

Coun. John Orlikow, chairman of the community services committee, said the funding would help address some of the Leisure Guide struggles.

“The glitches are one thing, but the bigger glitch is that we just don’t have enough lifeguards after COVID to be able to supply all the demand,” he said, speaking by phone shortly after the budget meeting.

The city is “well-aware” of the staffing shortfall for months, and has been working to improve it, he added.

Orlikow expects roughly 70 new lifeguards will join the city roster this summer, thanks to the help of federal funding that covered training expenses.

The new batch will help compensate for an exodus of trained lifeguards who left during the pandemic.

“I think we will still need more,” he said.

The University of Manitoba recently announced its Joyce Fromson Pool will be closed for maintenance.

As a result, its swim programs are shut down, starting May 28; the university has set a tentative reopening date of Oct. 3.

“(We) have been informing all users of the upcoming changes, and adjusting programs and fees as necessary,” university spokesperson Sean Moore said in an email.

The maintenance is routine, and there are no plans to expand the pool at this time, another spokesperson said.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca