Leisure Guide changes lauded

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This article was published 14/12/2011 (5225 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg’s recreation services tested a new, in-person registration system for Leisure Guide activities Tuesday, which some parents say they prefer to online and phone methods they call a hassle.

More than 40 parents and about a dozen children lined up at the South-East Registration Centre in the Louis Riel Library, took a number and patiently waited as long as an hour to get their kids into swimming lessons.

Registration for all other winter programs continues today from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Leisure Guide programs, which started in 1979, are extremely popular. Last fall’s registration saw 13,000 sign up the first day.

This year, 5,700 people signed up for aquatics within the first two hours, said Ken Carpenter, the city’s recreation co-ordinator.

Parents waiting at the Louis Riel Library said they would much rather sign up in person than deal with the headaches associated with registering for activities using online, phone or mail-in methods.

The average waiting time on the 311 call-in line is 13 minutes, recreation services said — but that’s after a caller stops getting a busy signal, which can take more than an hour. With six service desks on site at the library to process registration, the in-person line moved fairly swiftly.

“I had a brutal experience with the old system,” said parent Georgie Unsworth. “Brutal.”

Unsworth took the day off work and waited an hour to sign up her six-year-old for swimming lessons but recalls many more hours on her computer.

“I mean, this is still quite a bit of my time wasted, but it seems to be going faster,” she said. “The online system seems far less efficient.”

Murray Olafson, who was also signing up his six-year-old, said he’d rather wait an hour in person than deal with the hassles of calling or logging in on his computer.

“What won’t you do for your children, right?” he said. “But I prefer the in-person system for sure. Today, I’ve been here one hour, rock ‘n’ roll. I’m next in line.”

Carpenter said the idea for in-person registration came from a survey recreation services conducted last fall that indicated a staggered start date and on-site registration might alleviate the congestion that comes with “thousands of people trying to register for something they’re passionate about — all at the same time.”

“Early indicators suggest we have loosened the congestion online, on the phone and in person. I would guess the lineups are about cut in half,” Carpenter said.

For Lori Fraser, who brought her three-year-old daughter Hailey and nine-month-old daughter Isla, the in-person registration was “way better.”

“Using the old system is such a negative experience,” she said. “The system would shut down, it kept logging me off, it was stalling, and by the time I got online, everything had filled up,”

Fraser said she waited five hours one year to sign up online for swimming lessons. At the South-East Registration Centre, she was in and out in 40 minutes — which she said makes it worth bundling up and bringing her children.

“This is my first time doing it in person and it seems like the best system I’ve come across yet,” she said.

Carpenter urged Winnipeggers who are interested in an activity “to get their mind off the snow” and not to wait too long, because he expects to hit capacity for at least half of the offered programs by Thursday.

“I don’t want to panic people,” he said, “but they are very popular.”

laura.beeston@freepress.mb.ca

Registration options

THERE are four ways to sign up:

Online: Get a leisureonline login ID and personal ID number at www.leisureonline.ca. With your credit card and course code(s) ready, head to the same website and follow the online registration steps. Your receipt will be emailed.

Phone: Call 311 or 1-877-311-4974 toll-free outside Winnipeg once registration begins. Have your credit card and course code(s) ready. Your receipt will be emailed.

In person: A pilot project that started Tuesday allows people to head to a number of registration locations with their credit cards and course codes to sign up. Receipts will be issued on site.

Registration sites:

Cindy Klassen Recreation Complex, 999 Sargent Ave.

Elmwood Kildonans Pool, 909 Concordia Ave.

Pan Am Pool, 25 Poseidon Bay.

Seven Oaks Pool, 444 Adsum Dr.

Sherbrook Pool, 381 Sherbrook St.

St. James Assiniboia Centennial Pool, 644 Parkdale St.

St. James Civic Centre Pool, 2055 Ness Ave.

North Centennial Recreation and Leisure Facility, 90 Sinclair St.

Transcona Centennial Pool, 1101 Wabasha St.

The following locations will accept registration after Dec. 14:

Bonivital Pool, 1215 Archibald St.

Margaret Grant Pool, 685 Dalhousie Dr.

One day only (today):

Fort Rouge Leisure Centre, 625 Osborne St., 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

South-East Registration Centre, Louis Riel Library conference room, 1168 Dakota St., 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Mail or drop-off: Head to www.winnipeg.ca/cms/recreation/pdfs/registration.pdf and fill out the form. Include your payment information — a cheque or credit card number with expiry date. Mail your registration to 395 Main St., Winnipeg MB, R3B 3N8 or drop it off at the Fort Rouge Leisure Centre, St. James Civic Centre or the 395 Main St. registration office.

— source: www.winnipeg.ca/cms/recreation