Georgina residents not first come, first served for swimming lessons

Non-Georgina residents gobble up limited special needs swimming lesson times

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 10, 2019
Amanda Persico

Many parents know the sweat and pressure of swimming lesson registration -- pin codes memorized, time slots highlighted.

The online portal opens and it’s refresh, refresh, refresh.

Either you’re in or you’re out.

Living only houses away from the lake, learning how to swim is deemed a necessity, said Georgina resident Erin Dunn.

Dunn’s daughter, Kate, 6, requires special needs swimming lessons -- she has loose hips and cannot climb up and down the ladder or jump into the pool, Dunn said.

Georgina offers 31 special needs swimming lesson time slots in the fall, of which 24 are dedicated for those with sensory sensitivities.

The remaining seven -- four in September and three in November -- are adapted one to one classes designed for those with mobility issues, where swimmers progress at their own pace.

After developing a fear of water, Dunn worked over the summer to get her daughter into the water, wearing a life-jacket and dunking her face in the lake.

With limited spots, Dunn wasn’t leaving it up to a glitchy online registration system. She went in person, arrived 30 minutes early and was sixth in line.

But by the time her number was called, the four special needs classes slated for September were already wait-listed so Dunn registered Kate for the next available opening in November.

“She went from zero to 60 over the summer,” she said of her daughter overcoming her fear of water.

“Now, we have to wait three months before she’s back in the water. With the gap, we hope she doesn’t go backwards.”

To make matters worse, those ahead of her in the registration line were not from Georgina.

“I still might not have gotten a spot,” she said. “But those coveted spots shouldn’t be given away to people who don’t live in Georgina.”

Since there’s only one pool in town, residents should have first priority.

“There’s controversy over the MURC,” she said. “Is it needed? Probably. Until an alternative is available, residents should have priority.”

Georgina, along with East Gwillimbury and King Township, does not offer a separate registration day for non-residents. King Township does have separate resident and nonresident registration dates for its collection of summer camps.

Aurora, Newmarket, Richmond Hill and Whitchurch-Stouffville open registration to non-residents about a week after resident registration opens.

Markham opens registration to non-residents a day later. In Vaughan, there are separate registration days for different locations and non-resident registrations are processed about a week after resident registrations.

In 2018, about 10 per cent of Georgina’s swimming lesson spots were taken up by non-Georgina residents -- 3,126 residents registered for swimming programs, compared to 329 non-residents.

The attractive price has something to do with spaces being gobbled quickly, Dunn added.

Ten special needs lessons in Georgina cost $101 for residents and $121 for non-Georgina residents.

Meanwhile, special needs swimming lessons with a one-to-one ratio in Newmarket cost $200 for 10 lessons for residents and $230 for non-Newmarket residents.

According to the town, staff are aware there are some situations where demand exceeds capacity.

The town is reviewing its existing registration practices, vying changes for the spring 2020 registration period.