Sherbrooke’s pools will open on Saturday, June 20, starting at 10:30 a.m. or 12:30 p.m., depending on the location. Opening hours on the first day of activity will be extended exceptionally due to the expected heat wave. The water games are already open and accessible. Throughout the week, lifeguards received their annual training in preparation for the beginning of the season.
In Sherbrooke, all outdoor pools will be open, with the exception of the Centennial pool (in Lennoxville) where work is underway.
Several changes will be made to ensure the safety of swimmers. Among them, swimming time will be limited as well as the number of people admitted in order to increase accessibility to the infrastructures.
New rules
The capacity of public swimming pools has been reduced to accommodate social distancing. Swimming time will be a maximum of 45 minutes. Afterwards, the premises will be disinfected for roughly 15 minutes before the next group enters. All users must use the same entrance to the pool, where they will answer questions from a receptionist and wash their hands. Changing rooms will not be accessible. Users must therefore plan to wear their bathing suit under their clothes. The service buildings will be available for toilets and sinks only. The facilities will be cleaned every four hours. In order to respect hygiene requirements, there will be no lending of equipment such as boards, games or noodles, but lifejackets will still be available. Citizens are invited to bring a hat, sunscreen and a bottle of water in case there is a line at the entrance of the pool.
The Claire-Fontaine pool in Victoria Park will be dedicated to long swim lanes only.
Since a physical distance is more difficult to maintain in a group, no swimming lessons will be given during the summer period.
Beaches
The Government of Quebec has allowed the opening of public beaches as of June 22. The City of Sherbrooke has confirmed the opening of Lucien-Blanchard and Deauville beaches as of Monday, June 22 at 11 a.m. For public beaches, as with municipal pools, certain rules will have to be respected to access them.
The population is invited to visit sherbrooke.ca/piscines to find out all the details surrounding the opening of public pools and the rules that will apply in 2020. For the list of pools and their opening hours, visit the interactive map at sherbrooke.ca.
