*Update on swim programs for the 2020/2021 Swim Season

September 1, 2020

Memo from NRST Board President :

August 21st, 2020

Hello Everyone,

I am hopeful that everyone has been safe and healthy this summer while enjoying the warm weather on the beautiful island.

I’m sure many of you are keeping up with news announcements surrounding updates regarding COVID-19 in our province and on the island. These are very uncertain times for many of us as we are faced with future decisions that hold so much uncertainty. We thank you for your patience and understanding as we try to solidify plans for the upcoming season that are in compliance with the health and safety measures that are being implemented by the provincial health authorities.

The coaching staff and the board members have continued to meet throughout the summer to address new issues as they arise. Decisions regarding the best interest of the club are not made lightly and our number one priority is the health and safety of our membership. These new measures and the daily changes around COVID-19 make it difficult to make concrete decisions and therefore this year will be very different from previous years. Some decisions will need to be re-looked at and revised should provincial health authorities implement stricter regulations to keep the provincial population safe.

Normally by mid-August registration would be open for returning members and membership to new clients would have opened this week. We are in daily contact with the City of Nanaimo in regards to rental space and time, while updating our COVID-19 return to swimming policy that ensures the safety of swimmers and staff while on the pool deck. At this time we will update members as we receive more information from the Nanaimo Aquatic Centre. Space and time will be limited and we are trying our best to accommodate as many members as the new policies will allow.

We look forward to seeing swimmers back in the pool training in September 2020 with the new safety standards. Should you have any questions or concerns please continue to check our website, nanaimoriptides.com, or email me at nrstpresident@nanaimoriptides.com.

Sincerely,

Adriana Prlic

NRST President

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**With the exciting news of the Nanaimo Aquatic Center set to reopen on September 10th, 2020, we are busy working with the Nanaimo Aquatic Centre management in regards to confirming available pool rental space for group scheduling along with instituting a return to action plan in conjunction with the safety standards set out by our Provincial Health Officer, WorkSafe BC and Swimming Canada. Once everything has been confirmed, we will update our website and email the info to our members. We hope to have membership applications open by mid August with the competitive groups starting September 10th and Olympic Way Levels 2 & 3 commencing on Monday, September 14th.

Unfortunately, with new safety standards and limited pool space we will not be running our Olympic Way Level 1 and Swim Fit program at this time.

Stay tuned for further info**