Sarnia-Lambton YMCA Jerry McCaw Family Centre lap pool closed for unplanned repairs

Sarnia swimmers face weeks without a lap pool after a critical pump failure at the YMCA Jerry McCaw Family Centre. Swim lessons disrupted and no refunds mentioned.

Swimmers across Sarnia have learned there is currently no access to a lap pool in the city, and the interruption could span weeks.

In an emailed notice to members of the Sarnia-Lambton YMCA Jerry McCaw Family Centre, sent May 20, manager Paul Skuza announced the lap pool will be closed for at least one to two weeks, citing a “critical pump system failure.”

The timeline suggested is “based on the parts delivery and repair timeline provided by our external contractor,” reads the email.

Affected swim lessons

To help members hoping to access at least a dip in shallow water, Skuza said the leisure pool hours have been extended and “Dolphin, Swimmer and Star 1 and Star 2 classes” have shifted over to the leisure pool.

Not all classes can be taught in the smaller pool, however, and for some swimmers, lessons will be extended to make up for missed weeks.

Anyone registered in “Star 3-6 classes and all 6:20 p.m. to 6:50 p.m. classes” will not run until the main pool is reopened, said Skuza. Instead, the centre will extend the lessons for those classes until the end of June.

A timeline of interruptions

On the Sarnia YMCA Facebook page, posts about disruptions to accessing the lap pool have been surfacing for more than a month.

In a Facebook post by the Sarnia YMCA on April 5, members were warned that due to “essential repairs,” a hot water shutdown was scheduled for April 7 and that “showers and hand washing sinks” would be affected.

In a separate Facebook post the following day, April 6, the Sarnia YMCA issued a notice of “pool door construction” starting April 13, asking members to “please be aware that access to the pool area will be temporarily affected during this time.”

The day following the construction on the pool deck doors to the changerooms, April 14, the Sarnia YMCA posted on Facebook that “the lap pool will be closed for the time being” and that all aquafit classes were cancelled.

Later that same day, the centre shared that the closure of the lap pool was connected to “last night's power outage” and that aquafit for the day was cancelled.

In a post only two hours later, the YMCA said a modified aquafit class in the leisure pool did in fact happen as originally scheduled, thanks to the creativity of one of the centre's aquafit instructors.

Closures of the lap pool continued to be announced April 15 and April 16, with posts stating “the lap pool will remain closed.” On April 17, the YMCA announced in an online post “the pool is back open.”

Only weeks later, on May 11, YMCA members received an emailed notice stating “our main lap pool is currently closed due to a pump malfunction.”

In the latest notice, sent to members on May 20, there is no information provided on accessing any refunds or credits to members’ accounts — even for people who are members that only access the pool.

A reminder, said Skuza, that “Members can still access pools in Petrolia, Chatham, and London,” using the memberships people are already paying for. So for any Sarnia YMCA members that may have the ability to access vehicles and absorb extra costs of travelling, more options exist to swim other than Sarnia’s closed YMCA lap pool.

The Sarnia-Lambton YMCA Jerry McCaw Family Centre did not respond to multiple requests for an interview with The Sarnia Journal.

This is an ongoing story. More to come…

Have your say

Have you or someone you know been affected by the unexpected Sarnia YMCA pool closure? Trouble getting a refund or credit from the YMCA, even though you only use the pool? Have a child with cancelled swim lessons? Been able to make it to a YMCA in a different city? Reach out and share your experiences with The Sarnia Journal. Email: [email protected]