It was time to remember the good times at the Athabasca Landing Pool during the Last Splash event March 30.
Former employees and members of the Athabasca Rapids Swimming Club organized the event as a way to enjoy the pool one more time before it shuts down and the new one opens.
Organizer Mike MacLean said the idea was born at the end of December.
“Planning for the event has slowly proceeded since then,” MacLean said. “It was a great event for everyone who took the time to come out and have a swim.”
MacLean said he fondly remembered his time working at the pool when he was a teenager.
“I remember developing some good life skills during my time here,” he said. “We had to be certified in everything we did, and we had to be child friendly, too, as every one who was learning how to swim had different needs. The higher the level, the longer the lessons.”
His former co-worker, Tracy Shebansky, said she first started as a cashier at the pool in 1989.
“I was then promoted to teach swimming lessons to the younger kids,” Shebansky said. “I worked at the pool for about one year, and my family swam here lots, as well.”
Co-organizer Sherri Byrtus, who took water aerobics at the pool with Shebansky, said she used to swim at the pool a lot during the summer time.
“The staff at the pool were always awesome,” she said. “My earliest memory being at the pool was a haunted house that was held there back in 1980, when I was just a kid. And now, even today, my nephews currently swim with the Athabasca Rapids Swim Club. A lot of history happened over the years at the pool.”
Jeff Semenchuk remembers working as a lifeguard at the pool the first day it opened back in 1978.
“I was one of four lifeguards on deck who were watching about 140 swimmers,” Semenchuk said. “I worked at the pool during my four years in high school, and two years after I graduated. After that, I still enjoyed coming to the pool for many years afterward.”
He said what he remembers most is all the staff he worked with during his six years of employment.
“I also remember provincial lifeguard competitions that used to be held, including one year at this very pool,” Semenchuk said. “That year, we actually did finish in the top four.”
Current aquatics supervisor Janis Hodder said she has nothing but fond memories during her 22 years at the pool.
“It was my first home in Alberta basically after I moved here from Newfoundland,” Hodder said. “All three of my kids were practically raised here, and all of them currently have jobs working here. This pool is literally a family event.”
But she added the swimming tradition will continue when the new pool opens up before the summer.
“We will all be moving over to the new pool at the Multiplex,” Hodder said. “While the smaller pool at the Athabasca Landing Pool allows me to get to know each of the patrons that come through here, it should still be possible to do the same once the bigger facility opens its doors.”
Her 21-year-old daughter Nicole Hodder said it will be very sad to see the pool close its doors.
“But at least a new state of the art facility will soon be opening up, and I’m really excited about that,” she said.
