Summer still afloat in Armstrong

ARMSTRONG – It may be fall, but there’s still time to enjoy a popular summer activity in Armstrong.

The outdoor pool in Memorial Park is open for another week. Historically shut down the week of the Interior Provincial Exhibition at the end of August, Armstrong Spallumcheen Parks and Recreation is now offering an extended pool season. The last day to take a dip is Sunday, Sept. 21.

With the Vernon and Salmon Arm indoor pools closed for annual maintenance, general manager Byron Sayer believes it’s the only pool in the area open at the moment.

“We had the resources, it’s a heated pool, and the Okanagan summer just keeps going in September,” Sayer says.

He says this summer and last, when the prolonged schedule was first tried out, have been the longest pool seasons he’s aware of. This year’s season ran from May 16 to Sept. 21.

“We’re opening earlier and staying open later,” Sayer says.

The new facility, equipped with a hot tub, a kiddie pool and massive slide—in addition to the state of the art pool—was built in 2009 to replace the former Armstrong Memorial Pool.

“People are still discovering us and they’re impressed,” Sayer says. “They’re expecting little kiddie pools.”

With the B.C. teacher strike, Sayer says the extended pool hours were well used.

The pool is being kept in the mid-80s C so unless you’re willing to brave one of the region’s lakes or rivers, head to Armstrong. Check online for the pool schedule.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.