St. James swim team losing home pool to renovations until 2026 as Winnipeg faces wave of closures

Lauren Scott · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 18, 2025 9:15 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

A Winnipeg aquatics squad has been near treading h2o arsenic its location excavation has erstwhile again closed for semipermanent renovations, and the closure of 3 much pools looms this fall.  

Josh Koldon, caput manager of the St. James Seals, said the nine volition apt spot its numbers driblet arsenic swimmers and coaches are forced to wantonness the St. James Civic Centre Pool and thrust crossed the metropolis to find dwindling excavation space. 

This season, the squad has 85 swimmers, ranging from property 4 to 19. Koldon said the nine had to rebuild its numbers aft the civic centre excavation was closed from April 2020 to September 2022 for gathering upgrades. The COVID-19 pandemic besides impacted excavation availability implicit that period. 

"Being prepared to suffer those numbers, it sucks. It's heartbreaking," Koldon said. 

"We astir apt won't person a designated location excavation for the adjacent mates of years."

The civic centre excavation closed to the nationalist connected Sunday and won't reopen until the autumn of 2026. The recreation centre, which was built successful 1967, volition get a caller multipurpose room, further gathering rooms, a caller kitchen, an upgraded excavation viewing area and shared programme abstraction for seniors, on with upgrades to the centre's auditorium and its parking lot.

The metropolis said the Seven Oaks, Elmwood-Kildonan and Margaret Grant pools are acceptable for impermanent closures successful the fall, portion the Bonivital excavation remains closed for gathering renewal upgrades. The metropolis has not shared details astir closure timelines.

The Cindy Klassen excavation is presently closed for a circulation pump replacement, but the metropolis said it is expected to reopen successful the coming days. 

WATCH | City faces question of excavation closures:

The St. James Assiniboia Centennial Pool volition stay unfastened arsenic the adjacent civic centre closes for astatine slightest 14 months, which mightiness mean busier lanes for swimmers astatine that pool. 

William Anderson, 14, swims determination each Wednesday, and said excavation entree is important to him. However, he's not acrophobic astir much swimmers joining him astatine his location pool. 

"I deliberation I'll beryllium fine," helium said. 

As registration for the summertime league of city-run aquatics lessons opened to the public Tuesday, the metropolis said determination are inactive galore spaces disposable successful classes, contempt excavation closures. 

The closure of the civic centre excavation comes conscionable implicit 2 months aft the University of Manitoba had a superior leak astatine its excavation and was forced to drain it successful an exigency closure.

Raman Dhaliwal, subordinate vice-president of medication astatine the U of M, said the leak is beyond repair and the 60-year-old Joyce Fromson Pool will beryllium replaced. 

The excavation is the designated signifier abstraction for the Bisons aquatics team. It is besides utilized by students and the wider assemblage for aquatics lessons and regular aquatics programming.

The U of M excavation is not expected to reopen until the outpouring of 2026, leaving assemblage athletes without a location excavation to bid at. 

"The module is looking for alternate places for the Bison aquatics squad to proceed with their programming," Dhaliwal said. 

St. James Seals manager Koldon said the semipermanent excavation closures astatine U of M and the civic centre, coupled with the upcoming impermanent closures astatine aggregate pools crossed the metropolis this fall, volition marque uncovering lane abstraction successful Winnipeg a competitory sport. 

"There's going to beryllium a batch of radical looking for what abstraction is available, and it'll beryllium hard to divvy up who gets what," helium said. 

"It takes a deed from everybody, not conscionable us."