CARNDUFF - Public swimming pools aren’t what they used to be.
The last week of Carnduff’s public swimming season was filled with unique activities. Corey Purves and her team of guards had three out-of-the-ordinary offerings.
The first was a pool party. It filled a time slot when the pool is not normally used, 9 p.m. to midnight. Among other things, swimmers enjoyed freeze pops donated by the local Co-op. It was a boisterous enough evening that neighbours commented the next day that it sounded like everyone had a blast. Not so loud, though, that the police heard about it.
Another day saw a swim just for pre-schoolers and their parents. Little children are often intimidated by a pool filled with active children and adults. This day, they had the pool to themselves.
Purves personally purchased mini rubber ducks and gave one to each child to swim with. Carnduff Insurance also donated SGI colouring books for the children to take home.
There was also a drive-in movie night. It could have been called a Swim-In Movie Night. The local theatre provided a projector, speakers and popcorn, the ball diamonds donated pop that had been left over from the ball season and the West End Convenience Store chipped in Airheads candy. Swimmers brought their own floating devices or used pool-provided noodles to lounge around and watch Shark Tale.
They had to exit the pool, though, to enjoy the refreshments.
“Even though it was freezing cold, I hope to see all the kids back next year with the same excitement on their faces,” she said.
One purpose of the events, excluding the pre-school party, was to raise funds for the pool. Combined with a previous fundraising event, the admission fees and the sales of popcorn, pop and Airheads, a total of $954 was raised. Lifeguards helped the cause by donating their time.
Carnduff’s pool closed with a free swim, another of those 9 p.m. to midnight events. It took place two nights before school started, as the pool didn’t want to be held responsible for students being tired on their first day of school.
Alida also had a big wind-up planned for Aug. 28 which was to include a dunk tank, games, supper, a movie and a swim until midnight. But Mother Nature said otherwise, bringing cold temperatures, wind, thunder, lightning and rain. All the planning went for naught. The lifeguards, however, salvaged the day somewhat by staying in the pool office and having a party of their own, celebrating yet another exciting year at their pool.
