Planned closure of YMCA/YWCA pool will ‘put more strain’ on other swim facilities, say advocates
Illustration by Sona Eidnani.
On May 6, it was announced that the YMCA/YWCA had entered a lease agreement for the space — previously occupied by Goodlife Fitness — on the top floor of the Bay Centre.
The new space is slated to open in early 2026. Unfortunately, the new facility does not have space for the previous facility’s racquet courts, gymnasium, cafe, and pool, leaving swimmers concerned about the loss of yet another swimming facility in Victoria.
On July 2, 2024, UVic announced that the McKinnon pool would close by Sep. 15. On Feb. 12, 2025, external consultants completed a condition evaluation, finding that repairs and upgrades to the pool would cost $5.1 million plus GST. UVic has stated they are willing to work with outside investment to cover upgrades and operating costs, given budgetary restraints.
Meanwhile, on Feb. 8, 2025, a referendum was held to determine whether the City of Victoria could borrow up to $168.9 million to replace the Crystal Pool & Fitness Centre and to select a site location. 58.71 per cent of voters voted to support the City’s proposal. As of writing, the pool has not yet closed for construction, but is expected to do so in late 2026 or early 2027. It is estimated the project will take approximately 5 years to complete.
That leaves seven pools remaining for Greater Victoria: Saanich Commonwealth Place (SCP), Gordon Head Recreation Centre, Esquimalt Recreation Centre, Oak Bay Recreation Centre, Juan de Fuca Centre, Westhills YMCA swimming pool, and the Panorama Recreation Centre in North Saanich.
“[Crystal Pool] is really the only [pool] besides the YMCA … in the Victoria area, so I would have to go to Oak Bay, which is a little bit out of the way, or up to Commonwealth, which is a half hour bus ride, which is not ideal.” said Aleisha Woodman, a fifth year student at UVic who lives in downtown Victoria.
Woodman swims at Crystal Pool 2–3 times a week, especially in the summer. “[Crystal Pool] was fairly inexpensive for students,” she said. “There was a student rate there for drop in — $5 — and I’m not sure if that translates to the other pools in town as well.”
Following the closure of McKinnon Pool, the Vikes swim team has been using the Saanich Commonwealth Place to train.
“The closure of Crystal Pool hasn’t directly impacted my life, or my teammates lives as Vikes, but it has indirectly trickled down. When you close one pool, all the people from that pool need to relocate,” said Ricky Millins, a fifth year Vikes swimmer, in a statement to the Martlet.
Millins told the Martlet that pool closures put “more strain” on the facilities that remain open, which impacts young swimmers, and may have an impact on Vikes recruiting in the years to come. “With pools being taken from our youth, we begin to wonder where the next Vikes will be pulled from,” he said.
Millins added that Pacific Coast Swimming (PCS) and the Oak Bay Orcas have also spoken about the loss of pools due to maintenance and other closures. The Orcas now have to divide their approximately 100 kids between four different facilities, which adds operational challenges, such as scheduling coaches and driving kids to various pools across the city.
Coaches and board members of PCS and the Orcas have also brought up the difficulty in scheduling pool time at other facilities, as said facilities try to balance their own programming and public swims with their user groups.
“You can run anywhere,” said Woodman. “You can’t swim anywhere.” She added that, when beaches are closed for contamination, pools are the only way you can go and swim.
“It’s removing these leisure activities, these recreational activities, and making Victoria seem less appealing,” she said. “Even though it’s a coastal city, you can’t even go and swim.”
Millins stated that he’s noticed a dramatic increase of people at pools. “The Vikes swim at 2–4 p.m., [and] all those impacted by the pool closures (mostly young people), are still in school, so we don’t see it much when we’re swimming. However, if you go after school hours, there’s tons of kids. Commonwealth Place is also an ‘elite’ facility, so it’s one of the less crowded ones, but many other facilities across the city are over capacity.”
Dr. C. Peter Constabel, a professor of biology at UVic, began using the Oak Bay Recreation Centre after the closure of the McKinnon Pool. Constabel said in a statement to the Martlet that “the staff at the Oak Bay rec centre have already seen an increase in traffic, and are really worried about what will happen when the other two pools (YMCA/YWCA and the Crystal Pool) close. It will be a disaster for the pools that remain open, and the regular users there. Hours for recreational swimming could become very limited.”
Constabel said that it’s now harder to integrate swimming into his work day, but acknowledged that it was easier for him in comparison to students because he has a car, which many students may not have access to.
“If the pools are too crowded, it is more difficult to swim effectively, especially for not so comfortable pool users … it will deter people from using the pool and getting exercise.”
“Swimming is the most important sport in the world…. Because it’s not just a sport, it’s an essential skill,” said Millins.
“Purely from a safety standpoint, it’s important that … all people have the opportunity to develop this skill in a safe and controlled environment. … These are opportunities we need to provide our community with, not take away from them,” he said.
