Healthy Living
5 innovations shaping your brand-new aquatics area at the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre YMCA
05 October 2020 - by Lucy Schmidt
YMCA aquatics centres are vibrant hubs of activity. With cheerful AquaFit classes, early morning lane swims, children taking their first strokes, and youth getting their first jobs as lifeguards, all ages and stages can benefit from taking the plunge into a Y pool.
Such an essential area of the Y required extra special care and design. Here are some of the bright ideas that we were able to bring to life in your new aquatics area:
1. Your pool area will have a constant supply of fresh air.
Goodbye overwhelming chlorine smells! Hidden exhausts on the pool deck will extract chlorine-dense air from the pool’s upper layer, expel it outside, and bring in new, clean air. The exhausts are so quiet you won’t even know they are there—but you will notice the fresh air you breathe!
2. Enjoy viewing areas of the pool—even from a treadmill!
Watch your child’s first starfish float while you work out! Floor to ceiling glass between the pool and conditioning area will give parents the option of exercising as they watch their child’s lesson. For those who prefer to kick back and relax, there will also be a viewing area with comfy seating in the great hall, allowing parents to watch without needing to scan into the centre.
3. Plenty of natural light will brighten this large, open space.
A dark, closed pool area would not be right for our vibrant community. So we made our most open-feeling pool area yet. Three of the four walls are glass, and one wall is a two-story window facing the outside, allowing in an abundance of sunshine. Adding to the beauty of your pool area is the wooden ceiling, created from responsibly harvested, certified, Canadian timber.
4. We’ve found more ways to reduce barriers.
Designing a Y in consultation with the Pan Am/Para Pan Am Games taught us a lot about how to minimize barriers. A ramp will allow you to enter and exit the lane pool without hassle, and a PAL lift is available at the training pool. We’ve also widened the deck to make the area wheelchair accessible and installed a hospital grade bed in the change rooms for those who require assistance.
5. A moving pool floor will give flexibility to your workouts.
Why have a pool floor that doesn’t move when you can have one that does? The training pool’s hydraulic floor is a hyper flexible tool that makes it suitable for deep water AquaFit, a shallow class for young swimmers, and everything in between.
We hope these fun facts have made you even more excited for your YMCA’s opening day! Stay tuned to our newsletter so you can be the first to receive the latest news, promotions, and opportunities to get involved with your new Y.
We look forward to opening all amenities for members to enjoy, but because of COVID-19, some amenities may not be available when the centre first opens.
Such an essential area of the Y required extra special care and design. Here are some of the bright ideas that we were able to bring to life in your new aquatics area:
1. Your pool area will have a constant supply of fresh air.
Goodbye overwhelming chlorine smells! Hidden exhausts on the pool deck will extract chlorine-dense air from the pool’s upper layer, expel it outside, and bring in new, clean air. The exhausts are so quiet you won’t even know they are there—but you will notice the fresh air you breathe!
2. Enjoy viewing areas of the pool—even from a treadmill!
Watch your child’s first starfish float while you work out! Floor to ceiling glass between the pool and conditioning area will give parents the option of exercising as they watch their child’s lesson. For those who prefer to kick back and relax, there will also be a viewing area with comfy seating in the great hall, allowing parents to watch without needing to scan into the centre.
3. Plenty of natural light will brighten this large, open space.
A dark, closed pool area would not be right for our vibrant community. So we made our most open-feeling pool area yet. Three of the four walls are glass, and one wall is a two-story window facing the outside, allowing in an abundance of sunshine. Adding to the beauty of your pool area is the wooden ceiling, created from responsibly harvested, certified, Canadian timber.
4. We’ve found more ways to reduce barriers.
Designing a Y in consultation with the Pan Am/Para Pan Am Games taught us a lot about how to minimize barriers. A ramp will allow you to enter and exit the lane pool without hassle, and a PAL lift is available at the training pool. We’ve also widened the deck to make the area wheelchair accessible and installed a hospital grade bed in the change rooms for those who require assistance.
5. A moving pool floor will give flexibility to your workouts.
Why have a pool floor that doesn’t move when you can have one that does? The training pool’s hydraulic floor is a hyper flexible tool that makes it suitable for deep water AquaFit, a shallow class for young swimmers, and everything in between.
We hope these fun facts have made you even more excited for your YMCA’s opening day! Stay tuned to our newsletter so you can be the first to receive the latest news, promotions, and opportunities to get involved with your new Y.
We look forward to opening all amenities for members to enjoy, but because of COVID-19, some amenities may not be available when the centre first opens.
