Letters Aug. 10: Loss of hammer-throw cage; why bicycling rate is high The Times Colonist Aug 10, 2024 2:42 AM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message The McKinnon Pool at the University of Victoria. DARREN STONE, TIMES COLONIST Listen to this article 00:10:30 UVic’s pool decision ignores important uses There are additional points regarding the McKinnon Pool closure at the University of Victoria.
This closure follows the April closure of the McKinnon Building’s weight room, which meant that students paying the mandatory $99 a semester athletics fee will now have to pay an additional $93 a semester for a CARSA membership for gym access. Closing the pool means students are taking yet another blow to the value of their athletics fee. The pool closure affects not just students but staff and retirees, such as my father, who has been using the facility for decades and will likely be forced to drive to Saanich Commonwealth Place for a decent lap pool.
The closure also affects the UVic Submarine Racing Club, an engineering design team I am a member of that races human-powered submarines internationally. Without McKinnon Pool, testing designs will incur significant costs due to renting community pool space and transporting the submarine off campus. UVic’s statement about the closure seems to neglect all of this.
Most egregiously, UVic had plans to build a new indoor pool as part of Phase 2 for the CARSA complex in 2015, when it .