Fredericton swim parent calls 25-metre pool 'lost opportunity' for tourism, competitive training

In the weeks leading up to swim competitions, Alim Mirza has to leave Fredericton at 5 a.m. to drive his daughter to Saint John for training.

This is because Fredericton doesn't have a 50-metre pool and isn't likely to get one at the aquatic centre now in the planning stages. 

A new nearly $40-million aquatic centre is planned for the Grant Harvey Centre, but the main pool is to be 25-metres, the same size as the pool it's replacing at the University of New Brunswick. That one is to be decommissioned. 

Mirza says competitive swimmers need the right-size pool.

"I see that there is a future for our kids in Fredericton to go for a big competition if we provide the proper infrastructure for them," said Mirza, who has two children with the Fredericton Aquanauts Swim Team.

Mirza recently started a petition for the construction of a 50-metre pool instead of a 25-metre one.

The hope is that it might change the minds of decision-makers during the preliminary design phase being done with support totalling $1.2 million announced Wednesday by three levels of government.

Chris Ramsey of the Fredericton Regional Aquatics Centre Inc. said the original plan for the centre was to have three pools to fit different demographics. This is still up for discussion, said Ramsey, president of the non-profit set up to drive the aquatics centre forward.

As for the size of the pool, he said, "this is a 25-metre pool project."

"Could it deviate from that?" Ramsey said during an interview. "I think it possibly could, you know, in the context of … what's the best solution for the needs of the various user groups? Is it three pools? Is it one bigger pool that can have multiple purposes?

"I think it's still possible, but, you know, at this point heading into that process, you know, we are going into a 25-metre pool project."

In response to Mirza's petition, Ramsey said if a 50-metre pool is important to parents with children in swimming, then "raising the issue and publicizing that issue is important."

He said he will likely speak to the parents calling for a 50-metre pool eventually, but their best course of action would be to talk to the City of Fredericton.

A City of Fredericton spokesperson said in an email that the recommendation for a 25-metre pool came from the Greater Fredericton Region Aquatics Facility Feasibility Study released in November 2020. The statement said council received an update about the study in January 2021 and voted to accept the findings.

The Canada Games Aquatic Centre in Saint John has the only 50-metre pool in New Brunswick and can host both short and long-course meets.

Mirza said that along with providing a place for people to train competitively in Fredericton, there could be other benefits to a 50-metre pool, which is Olympic size.

For example, he said, when signing his kids up to swim, he needs to wait for the exact moment the application form is available and then jump on it to ensure they get one of the coveted spots. 

A 50-metre pool could accommodate a diving board, water polo matches, synchronized swimming practices, lap swims and other water education programs simultaneously, he said. 

And with the decision to hold the 2029 Canada Summer Games in New Brunswick, Mirza said, a 50-metre pool would make Fredericton a strong contender as host site.

He said the same would apply for other competitions. If competitive swimming could be accommodated in the city, Mirza said, it could boost the tourism sector, especially for local businesses and hotels.

His petition, which he started June 16, has more than 1,000 signatures, and he plans to present it soon to the governments involved in the project. 

"I think it will be a lost opportunity if we don't have the 50-metre pool and we go for the 25-metre pool. It will not serve the community. It will not serve Fredericton," said Mirza. 

"It will be [the] same problem we'll be facing down the line."