Thanks to my wife winning a raffle, two weeks ago I was super fortunate in being able to stay at a five-star hotel on Cox Bay adjacent to Long Beach.
One afternoon, while sitting in the luxury hotel’s outdoor hot tub, I was surprised to feel content with ordinary life at home in Cowichan. All winter I have been able to benefit from regular swim and hot tub times at North Cowichan’s Aquatic Centre. As deluxe as the beach accommodation was, I realized they didn’t match the everyday standards of hygiene and people management processes in place at our Aquatic Centre.
I have noticed that for many of the Aquatic Centre pool patrons, as it has been for me this winter with my injured shoulder, the pool provides an essential service. Swimming is an efficient therapy for injured muscles, for seized limbs, for underused cardiovascular systems.
I am responding to Mary Howard’s letter complaining that Aquatic Centre staff had delayed her swim time by five minutes, while staff ensured that proper care and attention to well thought out protocols were being adhered to, before allowing her to enter the pool.
In the middle of a pandemic to criticize such a brief delay is, perhaps, an indication of how readily we take for granted an Aquatic Centre staff that day after day shows five-star care and concern for their community’s well being.
Appreciatively,
Larry McIntosh
Duncan