Photo: Shaun Penner

By Shaun Penner

Phased Reopening

Eastlink Centre begins phased reopening Monday

Jul 5, 2020 | 3:07 PM

Some more recreation options for Grande Prairie residents will be opening Monday, July 6, including the Eastlink Centre and the Spray Parks at both Muskoseepi and Lion’s Park.

After being closed for nearly four months due to COVID-19, the Eastlink Centre begins its phased reopening to those who have reserved a time slot online. Unscheduled drop-ins are not permitted during the first phase of the facilities reopening.

Bookings for one-hour time slots for the fitness centre and aquatics area can be made on the City of Grande Prairie’s registration website (you will have to create an account). The facility is open between the hours of 5:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., then again from 4:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. Bookings can be made for Saturday between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., while the facility will be closed on Sundays.

At this time, only 30 people per hour will be allowed in the fitness centre, while the aquatics area will permit 24 people per hour with sanitization between bookings. There will be one person per lane for the 50 metre and 25 metre pools only.

Some tips and reminders the Eastlink Centre provides before you visit are:

• Show up only 5 minutes before your registered booking.
• Stay within your booked time slot, as cleaning and disinfection is being implemented between each slot. You will not be allowed to stay longer than scheduled.
• Stay for the entire duration of your booking to help staff manage flow of foot traffic at designated times.
• Come dressed in appropriate gym or aquatics wear and leave all valuables at home. Locker rooms will not be available for use.
• Place all of your belongings in your allotted storage bin provided at each visit by guest services and place it in the marked designated area.
• Use only one piece of equipment at a time in the Fitness Centre, meaning no super sets. Users are required to take a bottle of sanitizer and a cloth to spray equipment down before and after use.
• The floor plans have been revised to accommodate three metres distance between cardio equipment
• Practice physical distancing at all times.

The cost to book a one-hour time slot without a monthly pass is $5, while monthly passes cost $50. Passes will be sold until August 15. Memberships will remain frozen until the facility is able to reopen to full capacity.

Areas such as the fieldhouse and squash courts will not be part of the first phase of reopening.

Meanwhile, the Spray Parks will open for the first time this summer beginning at noon Monday. The splash zones at both Muskoseepi and Lion’s Park will be open from 12-6:30 p.m. daily.

Also, the Bear Creek Outdoor Pool opened for public use on July 2. At this time, the pool is only available for private bookings and there will be no public swimming.

Four, 45-minute time slots can be booked between 2 and 6:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday, while four one-hour time slots are available for booking between 1 and 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Bookings are only available to cohorts with a maximum of 20 people.

Bookings for the outdoor pool can also be made on the City’s registration website.