As the last song in our deepwater aquafit began to play, a twinge of sadness rippled across the pool.
Tomorrow (09/25/26), Crystal Pool & Fitness Centre is closing to make room for a new one. But in the interim, how will the community(ies) survive or be re-created in a different setting?
There are other community pools in nearby municipalities and the old YM-YWCA downtown pool will be retrofitted and ready in the new year. But it won’t be the same. I have already heard rumours of complaints from regular clientele at other pools regarding crowding. Their pools are half the size of the Crystal. Aside from physical capacity, there is also the disruption of community – ours and theirs.
Life at the pool changed drastically with the COVID-19 pandemic. Some faces never returned but many did. Even though I don’t know most of the people I see at the Crystal, I have felt a strong sense of community there.
- It is a place with history – old but comfortable
- Everyone greets you with a friendly smile
- All are welcome; all ages and abilities use the Crystal
- I can be myself, even when feeling vulnerable in a swimsuit
- The instructor knows clients by their names
- The Chinese ladies put on a free lunch in the lobby at Chinese New Year
- People sit around the hot tub solving weekly puzzles on the board
- My neighbour Anne waves enthusiastically on her way to the weight room
- I’ve seen the same faces for the last 13 years (but will I see them again?)
Artist renderings of the new pool are on the city’s website. It will be gorgeous. For now though, there will be a five-year gap in our lives. And by that time, many of my fellow aquafitters will be well into their 80’s.
“To everything – turn, turn, turn
There is a season – turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven”
~ Pete Seeger
