'If you build it, people will come': Swim Nova Scotia pitches new pool for Annapolis Valley

The province's governing body for swim clubs is trying to drum up support for a new aquatic facility in the Annapolis Valley. 

Swim Nova Scotia has pitched a new facility to the Municipality of the County of Kings and the Town of Wolfville during recent council meetings after Acadia University's surprise announcement in February that it would permanently close its pool.

"We're just trying to educate the municipalities on the importance of an aquatic facility," Bette El-Hawary, executive director of the organization, said in an interview. 

El-Hawary said an aquatic facility not only supports the sport, but it benefits the wider community.

Acadia's 60-year-old pool in Wolfville, scheduled to close June 15, has hosted a wide range of community programs and recreational and competitive teams.

"It leaves a huge void," El-Hawary said.

'Bigger is better'

Swim Nova Scotia would like to see a pool of at least 25 metres and eight lanes but "ideally we would love to see a 50-metre pool," said El-Hawary. 

That type of facility would cost anywhere from $14 million to $24 million, she said.

El-Hawary said there are profitable aquatic facilities in Uxbridge, Ont., and Boise, Idaho, that could serve as models. They are energy-efficient and were designed to be able to accommodate other programs and services, she said.

The Acadia pool, which is 25 metres long with six lanes, hosts five swim meets and various camps every year and was running at capacity at other times, she said.

Building a larger facility now makes sense because demand will continue to grow with Nova Scotia's rising population, El-Hawary said. 

"Bigger is better," she said during a presentation to Kings County council with Swim Nova Scotia president Martin Laycock on April 15.

Coun. Everett MacPherson said he believes most areas would benefit from such a facility but council would have to be confident an investment of that size would be worth it. 

"It's a big expense," he said during the meeting. "I think we're looking for assurances that if we were to jump in and go through this expense, there are assurances that the pool would be used."

Swim Nova Scotia will also ask the provincial and federal governments for funding to help cover construction, El-Hawary said, and there would be many opportunities to work with community groups and health agencies to ensure the facility was well used.

The organization is now developing a feasibility study that it will bring back to local governments later this year, but El-Hawary said they already know the demand is there.

"If you build it, people will come," she said at the council meeting.