Congratulations to the city and citizens of Red Deer on reaching a goal of over 100,000 residents
We can boast now being the third largest city in Alberta population wise.
But we are missing a lot of amenities our other sister cities possess.
On May 30, I had the privilege of attending our Red Deer Synchronized Swim Club 2015 water show, the finale for the season. I was very impressed by the professionalism of these young ladies.
From the coaches to the youngest contenders, they show great potential for winning medals at the 2019 Winter Games. Let’s give them a chance.
Our current pool is too small. One of the requirements is that they never touch the bottom of the pool — if they do touch it is a very costly penalty.
Could any of you swim and do the synchronize manoeuvre in three feet of water and not touch the bottom?
That is one example our swimmers have to overcome in a small pool. They practise in this pool and have to compete in the larger Olympic size pool, which is another disadvantage they have in competition.
Our Red Deer swimmers all need an Olympic-sized pool; they grew out of this pool long ago.
The 100,000-plus citizen would be proud to have a first-class pool for our Canada Winter Games in 2019.
Let’s keep all our competitive swimmers at home, where the people who mean the most to them can be there to watch the highs and the lows and the metals being won!
Just imagine what an Olympic-size pool will do for Red Deer.
Eva Jensen
Red Deer