Dear Editor
In December I had the pleasure of travelling with Dr. Tom Wolf to Regina for a meeting at which he was speaking. We got talking about the CUplex in the Battlefords and how impressed Tom was when he experienced the facility. I asked Tom if he could share his comments in writing. I expressed the view that there are too many people in our community who view the grass as being greener somewhere else (even when covered by snow). Those people need to hear perspectives from people outside our community. The following are Tom's words
"Hi Doug,
"As you know, our oldest son Oskar was until recently a competitive swimmer with the Saskatoon Goldfins. His team regularly attended the North Battleford pool for swim meets organized by the Orcas, and I joined him last winter as he competed at the new aquatic centre for the first time. I know you were involved in this project and thought I would tell you about it.
"Oskar and I, as well as the other Goldfin families and swimmers, were very impressed with the new facility. It has an inviting layout, very good food service (I heard lots of compliments about it) and a great pool and recreational water park. The swimming parents sat right beside the pool for most of the day, and we appreciated the way the whole facility works for both swimmers and parents. It's one of the few pools where parents feel like they're part of the event, can take pictures and interact with their swimmer if necessary. And when not competing, the recreational side offered a great place for the kids to spend their time. I took some time to walk over to the curling rink and take in a teen bonspiel. Very nice, too!
"All the parents I spoke with praised the aquatic centre, and it was obviously designed with a good amount of thoughtfulness to meet the needs of the community.
"Saskatoon's own Shaw Centre has an Olympic calibre pool (of which we're also proud), but the facility isn't as family friendly as your aquatic centre. You've done a great job with it and we look forward to visiting it again.
"All the best, Tom Wolf"
J. Doug Fehr
North Battleford
