Windsor International Aquatic Centre hosts WECSSAA swim meet

by Dawn Gray

The local swimming community is growing with the help of the Windsor International Aquatic Centre.

The 2016 Windsor Essex County Secondary Schools Athletic Association swim finals were held at the Aquatic Centre on Feb. 16 and brought crowds of student swimmers from throughout Essex County.

According to Danielle Parent, organizer of swim events for WECSSAA, SWOSSAA and OFSAA, the Aquatic Centre has brought new life to the sport at the high school level.

“In the past, we’ve had minimal swimmers,” said Parent. “We would have to go out to Leamington for championship meets because we had no facility here in Windsor that could host a competition of this size.”

This year’s WECSSAA meet was a success and the number of participants is increasing. Parent said their numbers are up and swimming is becoming popular again. Local swim coaches also see a bright future for the sport in Windsor.

Craig Perfect, helping out with the Walkerville swim team, grew up swimming in Windsor but back then they had to travel to Toronto for large scale meets.

”We couldn’t even try to get these kinds of meets here in Windsor without this pool,” said Perfect. “The facility is perfect for this event.”

The Aquatic Centre is considered to be state of the art. The 10-lane pool is 71 metres long and 25 metres wide. It is able to be adjusted by length and also has a section of movable floor that can adjust the pools depth.

“We’re the only facility in Ontario with 10 lanes,” said Parent. “The space is awesome. We can run meets efficiently and quickly.”

Lauren Taylor is a swim coach at Westview Freedom Academy and has been a competitive swimmer for Windsor in the past.

“I swam for Windsor about 10 years ago,” said Taylor. “This place is state of the art and it’s clean. The event is very well run.”

She says events like this one are a great opportunity for her team, which is mostly made up of ESL students and para-swimmers.

“It gives them a sense of community,” said Taylor. “Last year we had one swimmer, this year about 10 to 13, and next year it will double.”

Student swimmers also approve of the centre. Villanova’s Samantha Card uses the pool three to four times a week.

“I come here often because I’m a competitive swimmer,” said Card. “I love the pool, it’s beautiful. It’s nice and big and there’s a lot of lanes so a lot of kids can get in at the same time.”

Victor Martins has a granddaughter who competed in the WECSSAA finals and he says these facilities are second to none.

“It’s a great place and we’re lucky to have it in our area,” said Martin. “If you’ve been in some other facilities they’ve competed in the past, this is number one.”

The WECSSAA swimming finals went off went out a hitch and SWOSSAA finals will be held Feb. 23 with an estimated 250 to 350 attendees. OFSAA will be held on March 8-9 and is expected to have 2000 to 2500 participants. Parent said security has been hired to maintain health and safety and all three pools will be used.

“The facility is perfect for this event,” said Parent.