Thanks to the return of the revamped Community Centre, the Penticton Pikes are seeing a rise in its membership.
After not having a home for two seasons and training out of Summerland, the swim club had between 15 to 18 kids. Now they are hovering above 60.
“Last year it was really difficult,” said Pikes secretary Diane Henderson.
The club had lost members from Keremeos and Oliver as they didn’t have ideal times to practice in Summerland. Not being able to host meets was another problem. Because of the timing of when the pool opened, the club also won’t be able to host any meets this season. However, that hasn’t taken away from the swimmers enthusiasm.
Emily Henderson said the new pool is “awesome,” though she does miss the old one, which she swam in since age six.
“I like the number of lanes and waterslide a lot,” she said, adding that her first impression of the facility is that it’s huge. “It’s big and more open, more windows. I will be spending lots of time here.”
Elliot Clark, the Pikes coach this year, is a fan of the new facility and said the focus for the season is to have the swimmers perform faster, improve their technique and have fun.
“A lot of kids are swimming great,” said Elliot, adding he has already seen improved technique.
The Pikes swim club has athletes in development (age four to 12), transition (six to 12) and competitive (age 10 to adult).