Sherbrook Pool reopens after four years

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This article was published 16/01/2017 (3342 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Kinsmen Sherbrook Pool is finally open.

The pool officially reopened its doors on Jan. 9 after four years of closure following the City’s assessment of the heritage building as unsafe.

The West End pool is one of 13 managed by the City and one of the first public pools built in Winnipeg. While the pool tank has remained as is, most everything else in the building has been replaced, upgraded and brought up to code.

The City’s manager of aquatic services Jennifer Sarna said the pool was missed by the community during its closure.

“It’s pretty crazy to think that 86 years later, here we are reopening the pool,” she said. “I think this is very important… this was a noticeable miss in the last four years… it’s serving a population for those with needs that require this warmer, smaller pool.”

Immediately after opening, Sherbrook saw its first class of water aerobics. Participants remembered the building as it used to be and were pleased with upgrades such as automatic doors and the addition of full change facilities on the main level, rather than having to go downstairs to use the change rooms in the lower level. For many who use the pool, navigating stairs is not an option.

The project cost a total of $4 million, a budget which allowed for a full upgrade on bathrooms, change rooms and plumbing.

Public spaces were made a priority both in the observation deck area as well as the front lobby, which is equipped with charging stations and will see the addition of public use computers. 

“There have been a lot of delays, until the last minute we weren’t totally sure but we’re thrilled it’s open now,” new Friends of Sherbrook Pool (FOSP) co-ordinator Daniel Thau-Eleff said. “It’s amazing to me the group of volunteers who have worked so hard to make this happen, who have made their voices heard at City Hall, and really working on the nuts and bolts behind the scenes. It’s not always thankful (work), but here we are. The pool is open and it’s great.”

Former FOSP chair Marianne Cerilli says the group is “thrilled.”

“We’ve known for over two years that the funding is there and the pool is going to be repaired and opening so what we’ve been doing is working with a collaborative committee for over a year,” Cerilli said.

Now that the pool is open, FOSP’s focus will be on connecting community needs to programming at the facility. Cerilli said the shared success of having the pool reopened was thanks to all those that made their needs heard by the City.

“Some people that were there the first day (were) thrilled their class is up and running and that’s important to their mobility on a profound basis,” Cerilli said.

“They were able to show the impact of not having the pool on peoples’ health and that demonstrates how important the pool is.”

Cerilli encourages those who are interested to register for classes online or at 311 as many still have availability.

FOSP will be hosting community events at the pool in the next month or so. News and updates can be found online at friendsofsherbrookpool.wordpress.com