CHAT News File Photo

By Chris Brown

Kinsmen Club sponsoring free family swimming once again

Jul 5, 2022 | 1:18 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The Kinsmen Club of Medicine Hat is continuing its decades-long tradition of offering free family activities to the community.

For the 38th straight year, the club will sponsor free family swims at Hill Pool and Strathcona Pool until the end of the summer swimming season.

“Kinsmen Club’s motto is ‘serving our community’s greatest need’ and the Kinsmen Club of Medicine Hat has a long tradition of partnering with the city for things that meet that criteria, says Cameron Kemp, a past president of the local Kinsmen Club. “And of course, we feel that having kids and families and visitors to Medicine Hat being able to swim for free and enjoy our community, especially our outdoor pools, are very important so we’ve been doing that for many decades.”

The club fundraises throughout the year to be able to sponsor swimming in the summer and free family skating in the winter. Some of the more popular Kinsmen fundraisers are the car raffle during Stampede week and the Big Bag of Cash that was switched from the Home Lotto during the pandemic.

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Kemp, who is also national vice president of Kin Canada, says all service clubs are important in the community, allowing the community to fundraise for items that aren’t the city.

“The Kinsmen Club is one of those service clubs that raise a significant amount of money in our community and are able to give the majority of that back into our community,” he says. “That’s the key to the Kinsmen is our goal is to raise money that stays in our community.

Kemp adds Kin Canada is the only strictly Canadian service organization in the country.

The free family swim applies to all public swim times and does not include lane swimming or swimming lessons. Family swim times for Hill Pool and Strathcona Pool are now available online.

City staff ask for patience from swimmers as availability will depend on capacity at each pool. As well, children under eight years of age must be accompanied in the water by a person 16 years of age or older.

You can find the pool schedules and more information about Medicine Hat pools and spray parks on the city’s website.