‘Everything was just waiting list, waiting list’: Parents out of luck for swim registration

Clarke was not alone. She said a few of her friends also couldn’t get through despite logging on early and refreshing their page once 7 a.m. came around.

Haley Klaudt has been struggling to get her two young children ages three and six in swim lessons for years.

“We have been trying since they were little. We have never been able to have a formal lesson it has just never been easy to get into,” Klaudt said.

The inaccessibility of lessons has these moms concerned.

The Lifesaving Society of Alberta says there has been an inicrease in drownings at unsupervised swim sites during the pandemic.

“Swimming lessons are very important. I think it is imperative. I think it is a life skill that I think everyone should know,” Clarke said.

Klaudt has an above-ground pool in her backyard. She tries her kids what she can while they are wearing life jackets. But she is still worried that it is not enough.

“The biggest concern is what if they go somewhere else to a public pool and they don’t know exactly what to do to keep their head above water, should they fall in on their side, or just treading water to begin with because we don’t put a lot of water in the pool here so they can touch the ground,” Klaudt said.

Registration is first come first serve. The city says high demand for swim lessons, has contributed to the long waitlists this fall.

“So we have seen a higher demand for swim lessons this fall partly because we were not able to run our regular programming during COVID-19 for about 10 months so lessons that we would have normally offered during the fall and winter months were really restricted,” said Natalie Weir, manager of recreation with the City of Medicine Hat

The closure of Crestwood Pool also limited the number of lessons they can offer, according to the city, but it is not the main factor.

“Yes with another facility we would still have some evenings and weekends to provide more lessons. But then it also comes down to instructor availability as well.” Weir said.

With many lifeguards returning back to school. Weir said that has limited their capacity. The city will be looking at their waitlists to see if they can add more classes this fall and winter. But until then. It is another waiting game for parents.

by Tiffany Goodwein

‘Everything was just waiting list, waiting list’: Parents out of luck for swim registration

Our Community